


Episode 2: Root of All Evil

by WilliamShipley



Series: Kyle XY Season 4 [2]
Category: Kyle XY
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-04
Updated: 2014-03-04
Packaged: 2018-01-14 12:54:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 23,527
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1267312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WilliamShipley/pseuds/WilliamShipley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While Kyle spends his free time with Amanda and his time at Latnok helping the other students, Jessi focuses her efforts on her own project which has a startling result that changes the dynamics in the Trager household.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Trager Kitchen

_In the month since the Latnok board meeting life at the Trager household had been peaceful. I had a chance to spend time with Amanda and enjoy being with my family. Saturday breakfast at the Tragers had settled into a pattern, Nicole cooked the scrambled eggs, I set the table and Jessi made the pancakes. She had been unanimously declared the 'permanent pancake chef' -- a role she seemed to enjoy. Food bonds families together. As annoying as my family sometimes found Jessi, it's hard to be annoyed with someone who puts a perfect golden pancake in front of you on a sunny Saturday morning._

Stephen mopped up syrup with the last of his pancake and asked, "Are the two of you going down to UDub today? I can give you a ride. I have to go in for a few hours. I have a couple of student appointments and some programs to grade."

"That would be great," Kyle said. "Jessi and I are planning on having a busy day. Saturdays are usually busy because a lot of the students are out of class and have time to work on their projects."

"So, how are things going?" Nicole asked. "What are you two doing?"

Kyle smiled, "I mostly talk to students, we talk about their projects and I give them suggestions. It's good to work with people. A lot of them are working on worthwhile projects and making good progress."

"And is that what you do too, Jessi?" Nicole asked.

"Everyone wants to talk to Kyle. Sometimes someone will ask me something, but usually I just work by myself," Jessi had a slight frown. "I'm experimenting with some ideas I got when I was working with Jackie."

"I'm sure that as they get used to you, they'll feel more comfortable," Nicole consoled and then asked hesitantly, "Is everything else still going well? Are there any signs of problems? With all the trouble we've had, I can't help but worry," She smiled apologetically.

Kyle said, "Everything seems fine. Nate is still is a mystery. I've been leaving him alone and he's been keeping to himself." He shrugged, "I suppose we'll have to deal with that eventually. I'm in no hurry."

"What about Grace?" Nicole asked hesitantly, "Have you spent much time with her?"

"Not really," Kyle said. "She's been pleasant. We've talked about routine things for the group, equipment orders and things like that, but nothing important." He frowned, "I still feel that she has a lot of things that she doesn't want me to know about, but nothing that's really obvious.

"Any sign of other Latnok activity that we should be concerned about?" Stephen asked.

Jessi said, "I think that if they are doing anything that we would disapprove of then they are doing it somewhere else. They got a strong enough impression of what we can do to avoid putting clues in front of us."

After a pause, Kyle commented, "We got paid."

"Grace told me that there would be a stipend involved in the work you were doing. She suggested that you might get cars and have some pocket money," Nicole said.

"That would certainly help with getting to and from the school," Stephen said. "I don't mind being the bus but scheduling can be a problem."

Kyle said, "We could each save up for a few months to buy a car."

"We could buy one together." Jessi suggested, "Then it would only take half as long."

Nicole cautioned, "I'm sure you'd each like the freedom of having your own car."

Kyle smiled, "We could start out with one and then buy another later. We usually go together anyway."

Jessi smiled, "We're a team."

Stephen observed, "You know, if you wanted to buy a car together, you probably have enough for a down payment on an inexpensive used car -- something ten years old or so."

"A junker," Kyle said, smiling.

"Well not a junker," Stephen chuckled. "I think our enthusiasm for car repairs is wearing thin. It isn't as much fun as I remember."

"Hey, that's my car you're disparaging," Josh complained.

"We do seem to be always having to fix something," Kyle wryly observed.

"It has character," Josh argued.

Stephen smiled and continued, "But something in reasonable running condition could be gotten for four or five thousand."

"Could they get a car loan, Stephen?" Nicole asked.

Stephen said, "I would probably have to co-sign." Nicole gave him a concerned look. Stephen shrugged, "They both have regular paychecks now and we are not talking about an expensive vehicle. It would be fine."

"I suppose so," Nicole reluctantly agreed.

Stephen nodded, "We could go and look tomorrow if you want. I don't have anything planned."

Jessi smiled, "That would be nice. We could buy it together."

"Until we can save enough for another one," Kyle said. "Yes, let's do that."


	2. UW Latnok Office

The UW Latnok office was full of students. The games were mostly idle as people were busy working at their individual work stations. Kyle wandered around talking to various students about their projects, giving advice to those who were stuck on some aspect of their work. Everyone seemed happy to see him. Jessi, as usual, sat by herself, working on a computer, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

Mark sat down next to her, "You always sit here so quietly."

Jessi looked at Kyle, talking animatedly with a student and shrugged, "Everyone wants to talk to Kyle."

"Yes they do," Mark chuckled, "He's amazing, you can be stuck on something for weeks, show it to him and he tells you how to solve it. The whole place has been doing better since you've been here. We've won several new grants, and a couple of competitions."

"Is that important?" Jessi asked.

"Of course it is," Mark explained. "That's how a lot of us pay our school and living expenses."

"I'm not working for a grant or competition," Jessi said. "Should I be doing that?"

"You don't have to," Mark assured her. "If something interests you, there's no reason not to pursue it. What have you been working on?" He gestured towards her screen.

"It was an idea that came to me when I was talking with Jackie about her plant growth project," Jessi said. "I was thinking about leaf patterns and how the cell layout optimizes solar uptake. I thought the pattern could be applied to solar cells."

Mark blinked, "Can it?"

"Yes," Jessi pointed to the screen. "I've modified an integrated circuit layout tool to use a fractal based layout scheme rather than rectilinear. The resulting circuit layouts give an eleven percent improvement in energy recovery."

"You've actually done this?" Mark asked, "It really works?"

"As much as I can do without actually making physical integrated circuits, we don't have the facilities for that," Jessi said. "But the layouts would work. I was just checking my model."

"This sounds really promising," Mark said enthusiastically. "Are you going to try to patent this and license it to a solar cell company?"

"I don't know how I would do that," Jessi said, frowning.

Mark explained, "If you come up with an independent idea like this, Latnok will evaluate it and if they think it has commercial application, handle the patenting and licensing. They share the payments with the inventor. You should submit this for evaluation. If you want, I can show you how."

"If you think I should," Jessi hesitantly agreed.

"Absolutely," Mark insisted. He got the appropriate forms and showed them to her. She flipped through them quickly then began typing at a high speed. Mark watched in wonder for a moment, shook his head and then went back to his work area.

Later in the day, Kyle came over to where she was working and said, "Jessi, we need to be going soon. Stephen said he wanted to head home by four."

Jessi said, "I'm just finishing. She took the DVD out of the drive, wrote a label on it, and put it in a case." She shut down the computer and picked up a pile of forms. "We need to give this to Grace."

"What is it?" Kyle asked.

"The solar cell project I was working on. Mark said I should submit it to Latnok," Jessi explained. "He says that they will evaluate it and see if it is something that could be used commercially."

Kyle frowned, "Are you sure you want to give it to Latnok?"

"It's a positive thing -- the type of thing we want Latnok to work on," Jessi said. "And, we're Latnok too," She reminded him, holding out her hand with Sarah's red Latnok ring.

"That's true," Kyle nodded.

They knocked on Grace's door. "Come in," Grace said. When she saw them she continued, "Kyle, Jessi, what can I do for you?"

"Mark said I should submit this as an independent research project. He says it might have commercial applications." She handed Grace the forms and DVD.

"Actually, that's what much of the organization is really for," Grace said. "We have people who evaluate the work our students do and if it is commercially viable, they arrange patents, licensing and so on. We split any revenue with the inventor fifty -- fifty."

"Latnok takes fifty percent," Kyle asked.

"It's a rather large percentage," She said apologetically, "but we handle a lot of expenses. The patent searches alone can be time consuming and expensive. So what have you got?"

Jessi said, "I've been studying the fractal nature of cellular layout in leaves and applying it to the layout of integrated circuits for solar cells. It will improve the performance by eleven percent."

Grace glanced through the papers and looked up. "This is out of my area of expertise. I'll send it in and see what they think. If they think it is viable, there will probably be questions and possibly additional work will be needed before it can be commercialized."

"How long does all this take?" Kyle asked.

"Usually months, sometimes it can take years if the idea is good but needs a lot of refinement to be ready for production." She said, "We'll see. I'll let you know when we hear back." She looked down at it again, "This is impressive work, Jessi."


	3. The Woods

The sunlight cast beams through the trees creating a spotted pattern on the ground as Declan followed Foss along the path through the woods. From time to time, Foss had to push branches out of the way. As he did, he held them until Declan could grab them before they swung back into him.

"We need to get away from the road. I would rather not attract unnecessary attention," Foss explained. "About a quarter mile further is a nice hill we can use as a backdrop. I don't want bullets flying all over the countryside. It's also far enough away that the sound will be diminished."

They worked their way along the path a few minutes longer and came to a depressed open space under the trees. Foss led them down into it and stopped in the center. "Give me the bag," He said.

Declan handed over the small duffel bag Foss had asked him to carry, "What's in it?"

"Your gun and a whole lot of ammo," Foss said. He unzipped the bag and took out a paper target. "Fasten this to that tree over there against the bank," He pointed.

Declan saw the tree he was pointing at on the side of the space. There was a tall embankment behind it which could be used as the backstop. Declan attached the target and returned.

Foss pulled a case out of the bag and opened it. There was a small pistol inside, not much bigger than his hand. He took the gun out, removed the clip and checked the chamber then handed it to Declan grip first. He handed the clip to him which he took in the other hand. "I picked this for you. It's what I carry -- a Glock 26. It's a sub compact designed for concealed carry."

"Concealed carry?" Declan asked.

"Yes, for the kind of thing we do, you don't want to walk around carrying a cannon like Dirty Harry. You want something that isn't going to be obvious but will still have good stopping power -- and most importantly, will work if you need it. A lot of security people carry these and they are the favorite of a lot of police officers as a secondary weapon."

"This is your gun?" Declan asked turning it in his hand to examine it.

"No, that's your gun. I bought it for you," Foss said. "This is mine." He pulled a matching one out of his right jacket pocket, and showed it to him.

"You bought me a gun?" Declan was surprised, "Thank you."

"You're never going to feel completely comfortable with someone else's weapon," Foss explained. "Now let's load it." He removed his clip so he mirrored Declan, holding the gun in one hand and the clip in the other. "Insert the clip like this," he demonstrated and Declan followed.

"Where's the safety?" Declan asked examining both sides of the gun.

"There's no safety," Foss explained, "don't chamber a round until you are planning to shoot."

"No safety?" Declan looked concerned.

"Simplicity is critical. If it makes you nervous, carry the clip separately. We're going to be practicing quickly changing clips," Foss explained. "The Glock 26 has a standard 10 shot clip which fits flush with the handle. You can get longer clips of up to 33 shots but they stick out and make the weapon awkward. They also change the balance and are frowned on in many jurisdictions. It's better to just have several standard clips. Simplicity."

"Ok, what do I do?" Declan looked nervously at the weapon.

"Well, most importantly of course, don't point it at anything you don't want to shoot, including me and you," he laughed. "Let me get a couple pairs of earmuffs, we don't want to go deaf." After they each donned ear protection, he said, "Ok, chamber a round like this." He worked the slide to demonstrate, and Declan followed suit. "Aim and gently squeeze off a shot." He fired and Declan did as well.

"How did I do?" Declan peered at the target.

"It doesn't matter," Foss shrugged. "What I want you to do is to get comfortable with the feel of the weapon in your hand and how it reacts to firing. I want you to smoothly shoot the rest of the clip -- remember there is a bullet chambered automatically now. Keep your finger off the trigger, alongside the barrel, until you are ready to shoot."

Declan slowly squeezed off another nine shots.

Foss said, "Good, now press the magazine ejection button on the right side of the gun." He demonstrated, "Insert another clip." He handed Declan another clip, "Chamber the round and continue. Shoot the whole clip, don't rush just be smooth."

Declan shot another ten rounds.

"We are going to work through a variety of steps," Foss explained. "You've gotten a feel for how the Glock reacts as you fire. The next thing we are going to do is to practice on aiming. After you've done that for a while, your focus will shift from managing the weapon to the target itself. Eventually, after we've burned through a lot of ammo, we are going to work on widening your focus so that you see everything going around you and the targeting is automatic. In a combat situation you need to see a target and be able to aim and fire while most of your attention is assessing other risks." He dug into the duffle back and pulled out half a dozen clips, "Put these in your left pocket."


	4. Car Dealer

The car dealership had the requisite ring of colorful banners flying. The edge of the lot was encircled by cars side by side, prices posted in their windows indicating 'great deals'. Stephen, Kyle, Jessi and Josh pulled in and found a place to park. As they walked toward the used car section Stephen said, "We're looking for something, probably a sedan, about 10 years old in your price range with mileage not much above 100,000."

"Basic transportation," Kyle said.

"Yes, although it is also important that it be something you like," Stephen continued, "do you have any preferences?"

"Not really," Kyle said.

"What about you, Jessi?" Stephen asked. "Have you thought about what type of car you would like to drive?"

"Does it matter what it looks like?" Jessi asked.

"Does it matter what it looks like!" Josh exclaimed, "The car makes the man. Of course it matters what it looks like. It defines who you are."

"It does?" Jessi asked uncertainly.

"No it doesn't," Kyle corrected, smiling. "You define who you are, not a car."

"Kyle's right," Stephen said, "although I would have to say that quite a few people subscribe to Josh's view and spend far more than they need to on a vehicle."

Kyle said, "Jessi and I just want something to get us places."

Stephen pointed, "Here's a white Toyota Corolla. It looks pretty nice."

Kyle recited, "Reliable but bland, a conservative pick in the economy sedan class." Stephen looked at him questioningly, and he explained, "I read the reviews on all the cars in the last twenty years."

"Bland is the word for it," Josh said scornfully.

"80,000 miles," Kyle read the sticker in the window. "That's in the low range."

They wandered from car to car, looking at prices. Most of them were higher priced than the price range Stephen has suggested.

"Here's a nice silver Nissan Altima," Stephen said.

"A solid value, but there are better sedans to be had," Kyle quoted.

"It does look well maintained, though," Stephen observed, "Mileage is 106,000. That's not unreasonable. What do you think Jessi?"

They looked around. Josh and Jessi hadn't followed them. Kyle pointed, "They're over there, with the new cars," he said.

"You can't keep Josh from shiny new cars," Stephen said. "Let's go drag him back."

They went over to get them. Josh and Jessi were standing in front of a shiny new red Corvette convertible. Josh was explaining, "Zero to sixty in three point nine five seconds! This would really turn heads."

Stephen took a look at the sticker price and said, "It ought to for sixty thousand dollars!"

Jessi smiled at Kyle and said, "You liked me in red."

"Yes I did," Kyle smiled at the memory. "I think, though, that we should probably get something more practical. I think that silver Nissan would do. I'd like to see what you think of it."

Jessi followed muttering, "Downer Doug Party Police!"

They got back to the Nissan. "What do you think?" Kyle asked.

"Whatever _you_ want, Kyle," Jessi said. "If you like it, then it will be fine with me."

"Let's give it a test drive and see how it feels," Stephen said.

_Purchasing a first car is often considered a rite of passage. For Jessi and me, it was a way to increase our options. To be able to more easily control our comings and goings. But there was something more, this was something we were doing together. As we drove home together in our car I sensed that Jessi had a feeling of well-being. It felt good to be able to do something that made her happy._


	5. The Rack

The Rack was relatively quiet in the mid morning after the initial daily rush had subsided. There were just a couple of people sitting at tables. Amanda handed her customer the smoothie he had ordered, then turned to the get the next order -- and took a step backward.

"Nate, what are you doing here?" She asked.

"Getting a cup of coffee?" He suggested. Amanda glared at him. "Ok," he said, "I thought I'd give you a chance to apologize."

"You thought you'd give _me_ a chance to apologize!" She said, outraged. "You were the one who knocked me down and held me against my will. You kidnapped me!"

"After you broke into my room and stole my files," He protested. "Then that maniac Jessi came though the door and grabbed me by the throat while _you_ knocked me out. _Twice._ I woke up with a terrible headache, my door in shreds, broken pottery all over my room and a bunch of files that I had taken great trouble to get missing."

Amanda stared at him, speechless.

He continued, "The worst thing of all is that you pretended to like me just to spy on me. I completely misjudged you. I really liked you, Amanda. I thought you were nice."

"You pretended to like me just to hurt Kyle," Amanda countered. "You admitted it."

"That was just at first, I already said so," Nate argued, "I told you that's how it started but I thought we had something real going on."

"I did too," Amanda admitted. She continued in a less confrontational tone, "I wasn't spying on you, Nate. I saw the files accidentally when I was in your room. It wasn't on purpose, honestly."

"And how do you 'accidentally' see the files that are in folders on my desk?" Nate asked skeptically.

Amanda blushed, "I was looking at a picture of your family on your shelf and I bumped them. They fell off and while I was picking them up, some of the pages fell out. The drawings caught my attention." She opened her hands, "It really was an accident, Nate."

"And you knew all about Kyle," Nate observed with interest.

"I didn't know then, but I do now," Amanda said. She paused a moment and then explained, "Kyle and I are back together."

Nate pondered this for a moment. He sighed then said, "Perhaps it would be better if I got my coffee on campus for a while."

"I think that would be a good idea," Amanda agreed and watched him leave the store. She filled a tray with empty mugs from the counter and tossed them into the sink.

"Easy girl," Josh said coming out of the storeroom. "We have to pay for those if we break them."


	6. Foss's Warehouse

It was getting late in the day as Declan and Foss entered the warehouse. Foss set the duffel bag on the table. "Now, I'm going to show you how to clean your Glock." He went over to his refrigerator and opened it. "Do you want a beer?" He asked.

"Sure," Declan said, slightly surprised at the offer.

Foss smiled, then came over with a couple of bottles and handed Declan one. He sat down and waved toward the seat next to him, "We can go through it together." He looked at Declan, "Have you done this before?"

"No," Declan said then sat next to him.

"Ok, follow me. Take out the clip and set it aside. Check the chamber for an extra round." He pulled back the slide and showed it was empty.

"You do that a lot," Declan said.

"You would be amazed at how many people get shot with an empty gun when the clip is out but there is a round in the chamber," Foss said. "Now pull the trigger -- always pointed somewhere safe -- to release the back. Hold it like this, with the palm of your hand over the slide, the edge against the sights," he demonstrated the position. "Pull the slide back slightly, not too far. Pull these two tabs down and remove it." He removed the slide and turned it over to show the contents. "Take out the barrel and the spring and set them to the side."

"It's really simple inside!" Declan said.

"Yes, simplicity adds reliability," Foss continued. "Now there is a more complex disassembly we will do some other time, but you don't have to do that very often. We're just going to do a normal cleaning."

"We use this oil, to lubricate all the parts?" Declan asked, pointing to some gun oil at the side of the bench.

"No. We use the oil on the barrel, coat it and let it soak." He put a coating of oil on the barrel. "Next, we are going to use a dry brush on the body and the slide and spring. We want to clean them off, but we don't want to add oil which can attract dust," Foss explained.

He cleaned and reassembled his gun with Declan following his actions. "I'm going to put the clip back in mine, but you should probably not put the clip in yours until you are ready to shoot it again. You could get in trouble carrying a loaded gun around."

Declan said, "That was easy. In TV and the movies people are always cleaning their guns. It seems an obsession."

Foss chuckled, "Sometimes it seems like that. It's more of a form of meditation. Really, most forms of meditation involve repeating ritualistic movements. Warriors throughout the years have made a ritual of caring for their equipment.

"Be one with the gun," Declan said with a smile.

"That's actually part of it. You want to be able to use it without thought, so that you can use your brain for more important things -- like staying alive."


	7. Jessi's, Lori's Room

Kyle stepped through the doorway to Jessi's room. Jessi was sitting at her desk, working at her laptop. She looked up with interest at his arrival.

"Jessi, are you planning on going anywhere tonight?" He asked.

"No, I don't have anything planned," she sat up with a smile.

"Good," Kyle said. "I want to use the car to take Amanda to the movies. I just wanted to make sure you weren't planning on using it."

He left the room as Jessi slumped in disappointment.

* * *

Lori was sitting on her bed, playing her guitar. She was working on a song, a notebook and pen on the bed in front of her, a look of concentration on her face as she strummed an A minor. Jessi walked through the door went immediately over to her chair and sat looking at her expectantly.

Lori raised an eyebrow, "Come in," she said sarcastically.

Jessi, looking awkward, started to get up, "Should I go back and knock."

"No," Lori said exasperatedly, "Just sit. What do you want?"

"Kyle is using our car to take Amanda on a date," Jessi said.

Lori sighed and put down her guitar. "Were you planning on using it?"

"No, but I thought Kyle and I would go places together in our car," Jessi said.

"And, I'm sure you will," Lori said, "but you can each use it separately too."

"But I don't want to go somewhere by myself," Jessi frowned. "I wanted to go with Kyle. I don't have anywhere I want to go by myself."

Lori thought a moment, "You and I could go to the mall tomorrow," She suggested, "and shop."

"I don't need anything," Jessi frowned. "Why should I shop?"

"Because we are women," Lori smiled. "It's our birthright. Come on, we can go try on clothes. Maybe you'll see something you like."

Jessi pondered this. "Maybe I'll see something Kyle would like," she said mood brightening. "Ok, let's go to the mall tomorrow!" She got up and left the room cheerfully.

Lori watched her go, then picked up her guitar again and strummed the A minor chord once more. "This is going to be so much fun," She muttered.


	8. Kyle & Amanda

It was early evening as Kyle held the door for Amanda to get into his car. He walked around the car, got in, started the engine and pulled away from the curb.

"This is a nice car, Kyle," Amanda said. "You bought this with Jessi?"

"Yes, we bought it together, mostly to be able to get to Udub," Kyle explained. "We decided to share one car for a while then get a second one after we've had a few more paychecks."

"And Jessi doesn't mind you using it to take me out on a date?" Amanda asked.

"Why would she mind?" Kyle asked, frowning. "She wasn't planning on using it tonight. I checked with her, she didn't mind."

"I'll bet," Amanda muttered, and then changed the subject. "It still bothers me that you are working for Latnok," Amanda said, "especially after what they did to us on prom night."

"I know it does. It really is the best way to keep an eye on them," Kyle explained. "And most of the people we are working with are nice. We know Cassidy is a bad guy, but they promise he will no longer have anything to do with us. We suspect that at least some of the senior members have plans they are not revealing, including Grace."

"Do you have any idea yet what Nate was doing with your files, and Sarah's ring?" Amanda asked.

"Not yet. We're confident that he wasn't involved in Sarah's death. We think he stole the ring from Cassidy, but what he was doing with it and the documents, I don't know. I've been leaving him alone for now," Kyle said. "Mostly he keeps to himself."

"He came by the Rack today," Amanda said.

Concerned, Kyle asked, "What did he want?"

"He wanted me to apologize to him," Amanda said with tone of outrage. "He was angry that I had broken into his room and stolen his files. He was also upset that Jessi had broken down his door and that I had knocked him out."

"But he knocked you down and tried to hold you there," Kyle objected.

"Yes, but he has a point. He only did that when he caught me in his room going through his things." Amanda continued hesitantly, "He thinks I pretended to like him just to spy on him."

"That's not true," Kyle objected. "Until you saw his files, you thought he was just a bright student."

"I told him that I hadn't been pretending to like him," Amanda said. Noticing Kyle's dismay, she continued quickly, "But I told him that you and I were together now. He decided that he should get his coffee at the university instead and left."

"Good," Kyle said. "I don't like him being around you. I don't think he's someone you can trust."

"I know we had to get the files, and I'm glad Jessi got Sarah's ring, but I feel like I betrayed his trust. Did I have a right take his things?" Amanda asked with a frown.

"Well, the ring was definitely stolen, so you absolutely had the right to take it back," Kyle said. "I suspect he stole the other files from Cassidy, but I can't prove it. Don't worry, you did the right thing. I'm very grateful you did it even though I wish you didn't have to."

"It did let me finally find out all about you, though," Amanda said smiling. She leaned against his arm.

They found a parking space near the theater and got out. As they were walking toward the theater, there was a sudden bang above them. Amanda jumped and grabbed onto Kyle's arm.

He looked up, "It was just someone closing a sticky window. It's nothing to be worried about." He put his arm around her. "You're shaking," he said with a concerned tone.

"I'm sorry," Amanda explained sheepishly, "I'm just kind of jumpy lately."

"Don't worry, you're safe with me," Kyle said with a reassuring smile. Amanda leaned closer.

* * *

When they arrived home he walked her up to her door. She smiled at him, "I'm not ready to go inside yet. Let's sit in the swing."

They sat down. Amanda snuggled against Kyle, his arm protectively around her. She looked up at him and he kissed her. After a moment, she put her head on his shoulder and he leaned over to put his cheek against her head. They sat swinging contentedly.

"It's funny," She observed. "My porch looks the same, the trees look the same, everything looks the same, but I feel like I'm in a different world."

"What do you mean?" Kyle said.

"Before you came along, I was just a teenage girl. I had a steady boyfriend," Amanda shrugged, "Well a cheating steady boyfriend. I had no real concerns other than the next test and maybe Charlie being too amorous. You came into my life and brought magic and amazing things."

Kyle kissed her on the forehead and she smiled, and continued. "But the world now has monsters in it. There are people who kidnap you from prom and put electronic devices in your head. I guess I always knew there were bad things in the world but they weren't on my street. They didn't happen to me. Things are scary sometimes, like tonight when we heard the noise."

"Don't worry, I'll protect you," Kyle assured her.

"It's nice to have Superman to protect you," Amanda said, her voice troubled. "But Lois Lane gets into some pretty serious problems from time to time. I hope I can be brave enough."

"You're very brave," Kyle assured her. "But I wouldn't worry about Lex Luther or his minions coming around. Or Latnok either, they've assured us that no one will try to harm you or my family to get our attention. We've shown them that getting our attention in that way is a bad idea."

"So all I have to worry about is tests and an amorous boyfriend?" Amanda teased.

"Am I being too amorous?" Kyle asked, concerned. He started to straighten up.

"No," She laughed. "You're always a perfect gentleman. I had to practically drag you into the tub with me -- and then you just held me." She continued embarrassedly, "Not that I wanted you to do anything else."

Kyle kissed her again, she returned it with enthusiasm. The light went on inside the entryway. They separated and she laughed, "It kind of breaks the mood to know that my Mother's watching."

"It does," Kyle admitted.

Amanda disentangled herself and got up, "Well, it really is time to go in. I need to get to bed. I haven't been getting enough sleep lately." She kissed him again, somewhat less enthusiastically, mindful of the audience, and went inside.

_I had noticed that her sleep had been restless lately. I hoped that would improve with time. That night as I lay in my tub, settling my mind for sleep, I checked on the Tragers and found them all peacefully sleeping. Amanda was still trying to get to sleep as was Jessi. When I concentrated on Jessi, I sensed a feeling of loneliness. I imagined giving her a reassuring hug and focused on her. I sensed her mood improve and had a sudden memory of the night after the Latnok party when we fell asleep in each other's arms. It was Jessie, sharing her happiest and safest memory. I smiled and drifted off to sleep._


	9. Josh's Room

Josh was in his room sitting at his computer with a G-Force victory screen on display. "Once again, we rock!" He exclaimed. "Do we want to play another?"

"It was fun! But I'm late, though, and I've got to go." Katie's voice came from the speaker.

"Bye Katie," Andy's voice responded.

"Until next time," Josh added.

"Do you want to play another game, just the two of us or should we go to webcam and talk," Josh asked.

"Let's talk," Andy replied.

Josh closed down G-Force and activated the webcam link. In a moment Andy's image appeared. "It's great that you finally gotten broadband in your house," Josh said.

"Yeah, it's not as much fun to hang out at the coffee shop without you behind the counter," Andy said. "Katie's really fun to play with. I like her."

"Well you picked her. You're a fine judge of women -- must be your mothers," Josh said.

"Well I just imagined I was in your place," Andy explained, and then added, thoughtfully, "Although if that were actually true, I might have placed a higher priority on breast size."

"Well I'm still not interested in a new girlfriend -- we've been through that," Josh replied. "I've been looking into flights - why did you have to move to Cleveland? It's a pretty expensive fare from Seattle to Cleveland. Around five hundred dollars round trip, that's going to take some time to save up."

"That's probably just as well," Andy replied. "My mothers still aren't happy with the idea of a visit." She smiled, "The landing zone is definitely in hostile hands."

"I'll have to come in hot," Josh laughed. Then he sighed, "Although it's been so long since we've been together that would probably be an accurate description."

Andy laughed, "Well at least we can see each other, even if can't touch." She smiled at him, "So what do you think of my shirt?"

Josh looked puzzled, "It looks fine."

"Are you sure?" Andy asked, twisting the top button. "Take a closer look."

"Oh," Josh said, nodding sagely. "You know, I don't think it goes with your eyes."

"You might be right. I should probably take it off," Andy smiled.

"Absolutely," Josh said with conviction.


	10. Lori & Jessi Shopping

Lori and Jessi moved through the aisles of the mall clothing store looking at blouses. Lori picked one up and held it up to Jessi's shoulders. "This is more daring than you usually wear," she said. "What do you think?"

Jessi turned to look at her image in the mirror. "I can't expose my abdomen," she objected.

"Oh, right," Lori said. "I forgot. It caused quite a lot of comment at the pool when Kyle showed up in swimming trunks. It's probably not a good idea for you." She thought for a moment, "It cuts out a lot of looks, though. If you want to show some skin, it will have to be at the top."

"Is it good to 'show some skin'?" Jessi asked, puzzled.

"Well the boys certainly like it," Lori answered with a knowing smile. "But you don't want to go overboard. That can get you the wrong kind of attention."

"What's the wrong kind of attention?" Jessi asked.

"Boys who are only interested in you for your body," Lori explained.

"So you should show some of your body to attract boys but not enough to attract boys who are interested in your body? That doesn't make sense," Jessi complained.

"Ok. You want it to be interesting, but not so much that it attracts people who aren't interested in anything else about you," Lori said. "It's a matter of degree. Too much spice spoils the dish."

Jessi held up a moderately low cut red top with thin straps, "Something like this?"

"Yes, that might do," Lori nodded. "It's bolder than your usual look, but not too bold."

"Do you think Kyle would like it?" Jessi asked. "He liked me in the red dress."

Lori frowned, "Jessi..."

"No one wants me to be with Kyle," Jessi said unhappily. "I'm not as nice and pretty as Amanda." She thought for a moment, "I'm smarter and stronger, though."

Lori put her hand on Jessi's arm, "Jessi, I know how much you want to be with Kyle, and if Kyle wanted to be with you, it wouldn't bother me. It's really between the two of you. But from the second day he was with us Kyle has wanted to be with Amanda. He still does. I don't want to encourage you to get your heart broken."

"My heart is already broken," Jessi objected. "I want to fix it."

"That happens to all of us. Sometimes you can't fix it with the person you want and you just have to find someone else," Lori nodded, "I know all about this."

"Who else could I find that would be as smart as me, able to do the things I can do and have a telepathic connection with me?" Jessi asked with a hint of sarcasm.

Lori sighed, "You have a point. But sometimes people are not attracted by others who are the same. Sometimes differences attract. Sometimes people are attracted by seeing something in someone that fills a gap in themselves."

"I am not attracted to anyone except Kyle," Jessi said.

"Even those of us who can't jump off of tall buildings get our hearts stuck that way sometimes," Lori commiserated. "Look, I want you to be happy, I really do. I also want Kyle to be happy. There really isn't anything I can do about it except try to be a good sister to both of you."

Jessi perked up at the word 'sister'. "Thank you," She said.

"You're welcome," Lori said, then added. "You know, Kyle probably _would_ like that top."


	11. Foss's Warehouse

The interior of Foss's warehouse was mostly dark, illuminated by beams of afternoon sunlight from the windows as well as from the various holes in the roof and the sheet metal walls. Foss was sitting at makeshift console, reading a book, a cup of coffee on the table in front of him. From time to time he glanced at the monitors, which were displaying the front and back views of the Trager and Bloom houses.

He suddenly turned, gun in hand as he heard a sound in the warehouse, he relaxed when he saw it was Kyle. "Kyle, I thought we agreed that you would stay away for a while. There are probably people watching you. I don't want to compromise our base here."

"I was very careful, Foss. No one followed me," Kyle said. "It's been a long time since we've spoken face to face. I wanted to thank you for looking after Amanda and the Tragers."

Foss said, "I spent years looking after Adam and now that he's gone, I expect to spend years looking after you. I expect great things of you, Kyle. I think it's going to be worth it."

"Everybody seems to expect a lot from me," Kyle said, "but at least no one's threatening Amanda or my family to get it now."

"I haven't seen any sign of Cassidy," Foss said. "Do you have you any idea where he is?"

"Jessi and I have seen some credit card activity in Cambridge," Kyle told him. "We think he's working with the MIT Latnok group."

"I thought you and Jessi were on the Latnok board. Doesn't that give you access to everything that's going on?" Foss asked.

"Well, not yet," Kyle admitted. "We have only been to a single meeting and we were the last agenda item. We really don't know what happens at a normal board meeting. Currently our only official contact is Grace. I can't really ask her where Cassidy is."

"She would probably think that Jessi was going to track him down and kill him," Foss said, "which he certainly deserves."

"No. I don't want any killing," Kyle said hastily.

"Because he's your brother?" Foss asked.

"I know he is, biologically, but I don't feel a connection to him. I knew Adam was my father, but he felt more like a mentor to me than a parent," Kyle explained, "the Tragers are my family."

"And Grace?" Foss asked, "How do you feel about her?"

"It's confusing," Kyle admitted. "She's friendly to Jessi and me. I don't get the feeling of warmth I do from Nicole. I don't trust her. I don't trust any of the senior members."

"Well, you'll be in a good position to see what they are up to," Foss said. "Adam was disillusioned and tried to stay away. He was unable to keep control of them. Maybe you'll do better being actively involved with them."

"I'm beginning to think that it's a mistake to consider the board as a single group," Kyle observed. "Having met them and watched them, even for short time, I can see that there are different groups within the board. There are probably multiple agendas being followed."

"That makes sense. Adam always felt that there were some members he could trust," Foss agreed. "There were some who helped me take care of Adam in the cabin. One of them was named Ryan."

"Did Adam tell you which ones he trusted?" Kyle asked. "It might be good to know."

"I don't know -- and even if I did, I wouldn't count on Adam's judgment -- he got shot, after all," Foss said. "You had better make your own observations."

"Most of the people at the UDub Latnok office are what Adam would have wanted -- Bright people trying to improve the world," Kyle said. "It feels good to help them."

"You said you didn't trust Grace," Foss said. "Do you have any clue what she's planning?"

"So far all of our interactions have been about running the office, making sure everyone has what they need. I sense that there's something she's keeping from us, but it's really not anything that Jessi and I are able to identify," Kyle frowned. "Have you seen anything going on?"

"No it's been really quiet," Foss waved at the monitors. "I've been using the time to give Declan some training. We've been out in the woods shooting."

"Shooting!" Kyle was troubled. "I hope we don't have any shooting."

"I do too," Foss agreed. "But it's better to be prepared, and it's helping him build his confidence."

"He's been a good friend. I haven't always treated him well." Kyle looked at Foss apologetically, "He's not the only one I've mistreated."

"Don't worry, we're all fine," Foss assured him.

Kyle smiled and said, "I hope so."

Foss patted him on the shoulder, "We are. It is good to see you, but you shouldn't come here often. Stay in contact by phone. Let me know immediately if you suspect anything so I can increase my surveillance level," Foss said.

"Don't worry, I will," Kyle said as he left.

_Foss and Declan had always been there for me. Foss watched over me while I was still an experiment in a pod. He got me out of the pod. He saved my life. Declan had kept my secrets, watched out for me and been willing to go with us into Madacorp. They were the ones I called when I needed someone to help me protect Amanda and my family. I owed them everything. Foss would do anything for me, he had killed to protect me, was he training Declan to be someone who would kill to protect me too? Having people who would be willing to kill to protect me and the ones I love made me feel safer -- and troubled me deeply. Was I responsible for all those deaths?_


	12. The Rack

The Rack was relatively full with the late morning crowd. Lori and Mark were sitting at a table spread with pages at the side of the room. Mark frowned at one of the pages and commented, "It's nice, but you seem to have hit something of a plateau. I think you have another level that you can get to."

"And what do you recommend, Oh Guru? Where will I find this level?" Lori smiled.

Mark thought a moment and said, "You're trying to improve your songwriting for some amorphous future. That's too distant. You need something that will give you a more immediate goal, like the contest for the prom song did -- something that will generate some adrenaline."

"I've had quite enough adrenaline lately," Lori objected. "With all the Latnok excitement."

"I mean a different type of adrenaline, the creative kind." He thought for a moment, "You know, they have an open mic at 'The Pockets' on one Saturday a month. You should get together a two or three song set and sing them in front of an audience."

"That's a college bar," Lori said. "I'm a high school student."

"That's my point," Mark said, "Your instincts are for a more mature style. You need to get away from a high school audience."

"They wouldn't even let me in, let alone on stage," Lori objected. "We had to hide in the bathroom last time we were there, they card people."

"I know the guy who manages the music, Gary Baker. He's always looking for new people," Mark assured her. "Don't worry about it."

"If you really think I could," Lori said doubtfully. "What would I sing for college students?"

Mark pointed at one of her papers, "This would be a good opening piece."

Kyle came into the Rack, waved at Lori and Mark and went up to the counter. Amanda came over smiling, "Do you want a smoothie?"

"I always like your smoothies," Kyle smiled.

She mixed the smoothie, and then set it in front of him. He said, "Are we still going to the movies on Saturday?"

Amanda hesitated, "I haven't checked to see what's playing."

"Does it matter?" Kyle asked. "I just want to be with you."

"Well, my nerves aren't up to a lot of explosions and car chases," Amanda admitted.

"So we can see a 'Chick Flick'," Kyle said, smiling.

"I want to go as long as we can find something," Amanda said.

"So do I," Kyle said.

They glanced at the door as Jessi came into the Rack. She was wearing her new blouse which was red, moderately tight fitting and cut low enough that several male eyes tracked her as she avoided Kyle and Amanda and went down to where Josh was standing to place her order. Kyle's eyes were among them.

"Kyle!" Amanda glared.

He looked back, "Sorry, I haven't seen her in that before."

"Are you sure you don't want to go over for a closer look?" Amanda asked sarcastically.

"No, I can see fine from here," Kyle said, then seeing her expression, said. "I was just surprised."

Amanda said, "Drink your smoothie." She scowled in Jessi's direction.

Mark watched Jessi come in. He commented to Lori, "She doesn't usually dress to stand out."

Lori said, "She just wants to show Kyle her new blouse."

"Kyle? I thought Kyle was dating Amanda," Mark said, puzzled.

"He is, hence the glaring," She nodded toward Kyle and Amanda. She sighed and said, "Jessi's really into him."

Mark pondered for a moment, "I could see that. They certainly are a unique couple and have an amazing chemistry," Mark said.

"They're both very smart," Lori agreed.

"I'm very smart," Mark said.

"And humble too," Lori countered.

"No, really I've been very smart my whole life," He explained. "Most of the time, if I were with a group of people anywhere near my age, I was the smartest one in the room. I've been smarter than my teachers. It wasn't until I joined the Latnok group that I've had a group of people I could interact with on an even basis. There's still a range but we are all very smart people."

"I understand. You explained why you wanted to hang out with them already," Lori said impatiently. "I think that's one of the reasons Kyle hangs out there too."

"No," Mark said. "When Kyle walks into Latnok, he is the smartest one in the room, and not by just a little, by a lot. He walks around helping us, and I get the feeling that it's like a kindergarten teacher suggesting a different color to the kids doing finger painting."

Lori frowned, "I thought it was just _us_ that Kyle made feel stupid. He does that to you too? Does it bother you?"

"Not really," Mark said. "My finger painting looks much nicer with the new color." He smiled at her, and then continued thoughtfully, "I don't think Nate can handle it, though."

"And Jessi?" Lori asked.

"When Jessi walks in the room, Kyle may no longer be the smartest person in the room," Mark said.

"You really think that Jessi is smarter than Kyle?" Lori asked, surprised.

"They're both so much smarter than I am that I can't really judge. I think Jessi tries harder than Kyle, she's more competitive. I watched her play pool when she learned that Sarah Emmerson was a pool legend. She immediately became an expert." Mark said enthusiastically. "I've never seen anyone like her."

"You're not into her, are you?" Lori asked, with a touch of concern.

"Oh, no, she scares me," Mark said. "But as smart as she is, she needs help interacting with people. Let's invite her to join us."

"If you insist," Lori said unenthusiastically.

Jessi turned from the counter with her drink and, seeing Mark wave her over, got a cheerful look and came over to them.

"Do you want to sit with us?" Mark asked.

Jessi hesitantly looked at Lori who said, "Please, sit down."

Jessi sat where she could see Kyle and, more importantly, Kyle could see her. Lori looked at Mark and rolled her eyes. Mark shrugged.

Jessi glanced down at the papers with a frown, "You have the meter wrong here," she said, pointing.


	13. Kyle's Room

_Once again as night settled on the Trager household I used my enhanced hearing to check on Amanda and the Tragers. They were sleeping well but Amanda was still troubled by dreams. Jessi, I could sense with more than my hearing. I could hear that she was restless and felt the sense of loneliness. I gave her a good-night hug by imagining hugging her and sending the impression to comfort her. We were getting better at this, she returned the memory of the night I had comforted her when we found that Cassidy had Sarah's ring. Smiling, I drifted into sleep._

Kyle woke in the middle of the night and looked up to see Jessi standing at the foot of his tub, watching him. "Jessi, is there something wrong?" He asked, starting to get up.

"No," she said and motioned him back with her hands. "There's no problem, don't get up."

Kyle remained sitting up. "What do you want?" He asked.

"I want," she said, and then looked away biting her lip. She continued reluctantly, "I want you to hold me again -- like you did that night."

Kyle looked at the door then looked back. "Jessi, I can't. You shouldn't be in here."

"But I ... I." She stopped and hung her head. "I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep. I know you don't want to."

"That's not true. You know it would make Nicole angry. I could lose Amanda again," Kyle said. "I can't."

"I shouldn't have come in here," Jessi said miserably. "I couldn't help myself. I'm always doing the wrong thing." She turned and started for the door, tears filling her eyes.

"Jessi," Kyle relented. "Jessi, come back."

She turned back went over to the tub. "I'm sorry, I don't want to get you in trouble."

Kyle lay back to make room and spread his arms welcomingly. "It's all right, get in. Just for a little while to help you get to sleep."

Jessi gingerly got in. She gently spread her right palm on his bare chest over his heart and put her cheek next to it, snuggling into his shoulder.

Kyle put his arm around her and she said quietly into his chest, "This feels wonderful. I won't stay long, I promise."

_I knew that I should not have invited Jessi to get into the tub with me. Nicole would be angry if she found out and it could cause terrible problems with Amanda. But Jessi needed me and I couldn't turn her away. Amanda had slept in my tub the night she had missed her flight. That had been frightening, confusing and wonderful. Jessi's hand over my heart tingled like she was gently holding onto it, caressing it, her face was warm on my chest and I, too felt comforted._


	14. Trager Kitchen

Kyle came into the kitchen to find the usual Saturday breakfast preparation in progress. Nicole was scrambling the eggs and Jessi was building a pile of pancakes. He got plates out and started to set them on the table. Jessi gave him a happy smile. He smiled and then looked away.

Nicole noticed the interchange and frowned, "So, how did everyone sleep?"

"Great," Jessi said. "I feel great this morning."

"I slept well," Kyle said.

Stephen walked in, "How's it coming?"

"We're almost ready, get Josh and Lori," Nicole said.

_Breakfast with my family, the sun was shining, everyone was happy eating together, Jessi was as cheerful as I had seen her. I could hear Amanda playing next door. It would be a perfect morning -- if I weren't feeling so guilty and confused._

Nicole asked, "Kyle, Jessi, are you two going over to UDub today?"

Kyle nodded, "Yes, there are a lot of people trying to get their projects finished before the fall semester classes start. We should be there to help them."

"How's the car running?" Stephen said. "Any problems cropping up? You've had it now for three weeks, right?"

"Everything is still fine," Kyle said. "We've found a couple of things that we are watching, but it seems to be stable."

"Well, a ten year old car isn't going to be perfect," Stephen admitted. "But as long as nothing major happens, you should be able to deal with any problems."

"I certainly went through a lot of parts," Josh said. "But we seem to have gotten my car finally running reliably. Too bad I have no where to go."

Nicole said, "You can't sit around moping."

"Oh, I won't be moping. Andy and I plan on playing some G-Force, this morning, and following that with some video chat," Josh smiled.

"Things are certainly different since we were dating," Stephen said to Nicole.

"Miss the horse and buggy?" Josh teased.

"More like dial up connections," Stephen replied. "Real time video wasn't an option."

"What are you doing today, Lori?" Nicole asked.

"I'm meeting Mark at the Rack, he's having me get a set of songs together to sing ... in front of an audience," She finished hesitantly.

Stephen said. "'Pockets', I know about that. Mark told me. I think he's learned better than to surprise me."

Nicole frowned, "That's really more of a bar, are you sure it's all right for Lori to be there?"

"Mark assured me that they wouldn't be there long, just enough for Lori to get the feel of the place and do her songs. He said he'd make sure that there were only soft drinks at their table," Stephen assured her. "Maybe we can drop by too."

"That probably would be a good idea," Nicole said, smiling as Lori sighed.


	15. UDub Latnok Office

As Kyle and Jessi were driving to the university, Kyle said, "About last night..."

Jessi said, "I'm sorry, I'd been thinking about the night after the Latnok party and how we slept side by side and ..." She looked down.

"Jessi, we can't be doing things like that. Nicole asked us not to," Kyle admonished her. "And I just got back together with Amanda. I don't want to lose her again."

"You didn't do anything wrong," Jessi objected, "You just comforted a friend who was feeling sad and made her feel better."

"You know that it was more than that," Kyle disagreed.

"Was it?" Jessi said, brightening.

"It certainly was," Kyle said with a smile then it faded. "And we can't do it again."

Jessi looked out her side window, a look of joy on her face.

* * *

They had been at the Latnok facility for a couple of hours. Kyle had been working with various students and, as usual, Jessi mostly worked alone at her computer. She was staring at the screen, deep in thought, when Mark came up to her. "Grace says she wants to see you," He said.

"Did she say what she wanted?" Jessi asked.

"Just that she had some news for you," Mark shrugged.

Jessi looked around the room. "Where's Kyle?" she asked.

"I don't know, I haven't seen him in a while," Mark said. "He might have gone outside."

"I guess I'll go talk to her by myself." She went to Grace's office and knocked on the wooden door."

"Come in," Grace called. As Jessi opened the door, she began, "Jessi, I have some good news for you."

"Good news?" Jessi asked.

"Yes, sit down." She pointed to the chair in front of her desk and Jessi sat with a guarded expression on her face. "The Latnok staff took one look at your project and immediately recognized it as a high potential idea. They decided to 'fast track' it," She smiled, "There have been people working on it pretty much continually since you gave it to us."

"Do they have anything they want to ask me about? Is there anything they want me to do?" Jessi asked.

"No, they said that it was probably the most comprehensive submission they had seen. The technical work was essentially complete," Grace answered. "Most of the remaining work has been done by lawyers. They've been preparing the patent application and negotiating a licensing agreement with a solar cell manufacturer."

"I thought you said the process would take months or years," Jessi said, puzzled.

"It usually does," Grace admitted. "This was ready for production and in a competitive high tech industry you don't let innovations sit around, you have to move fast."

"They've already found a manufacturer?" Jessi asked.

"A large solar cell manufacturer was very interested. They made an experimental run off of your masks and it gave them the improvements you predicted," Grace smiled. "They signed right away on some pretty generous terms. They are planning on switching their production over in the next month."

"So Latnok is going to be using my idea," Jessi said. "I've just been working on improving my abilities. It's good to do something that they think is important. I didn't think that Latnok was interested in me."

"I think that Latnok is going to be looking at you a lot more closely," Grace said, with a smile. "They've been focused on Kyle, but this is certainly going to make some of them think twice."

Jessi said, "Brian was always focusing on building my physical skills to get Latnok's attention."

"Well this certainly did," Grace said, "Anyway, we've transferred your half of the initial license fee into your bank account. There will also be royalties after they get into production." She handed Jessi an envelope. "This is a letter confirming what I've told you as well as a copy of the wire transfer confirmation."

"Thank you," Jessi said, putting the envelope in her pocket. "It does feel good to be contributing."

Grace smiled, "We're eager to see what you do next."


	16. Trager Dinner Table

That night at the dinner table, Nicole had made pot roast with carrots and onions as well as mashed potatoes and gravy which was a favorite at the Trager house. The mood was cheerful as everyone enjoyed their dinner.

"Lori, how did your song writing session go with Mark?" Nicole asked.

"It's going well," Lori nodded. "Mark was right. It focuses the mind to have a deadline."

"It usually does," Stephen agreed. "We all need deadlines. When do you think you'll be ready?"

"Mark wants me to perform at 'pockets' in two weeks," Lori said. "I told him I didn't think I was ready, he told me he thought I needed the adrenaline boost." She smiled, "I've got one now."

"I'm sure you'll be great. Your father and I are looking forward to watching," Nicole said. Seeing Lori's dismay, she continued, "From the back of the room, don't worry -- we won't hover." Lori smiled.

Stephen looked at Kyle, "So how did it go at Latnok today?"

Nicole shook her head, "I still can't believe we are saying things like that."

Kyle smiled at her, "It was a good day. There are a number of people making progress. Jackie's plants are looking very promising."

Jessi smiled, "They are going to use my project."

"You didn't tell me that," Kyle said, surprised.

"I'm sorry, you were away when Grace told me and I was concentrating on my new one when you got back," Jessi said.

"What's your project?" Stephen asked.

"It's a way of laying out circuits for solar cells based on the fractal patterns in leaves. It improves the electricity production by eleven percent," Jessi said. "It's an idea that came to me when I was working with Jackie on her plants."

Stephen said, "So they are going to try to develop this into a commercial product? Build the circuit masks and so on?"

"I did the masks already. I found a program to do circuit mask layout and modified it. They said it was all ready to go. They've filed for a patent and licensed it to a solar cell company," Jessi said. "Grace told me they were going into production within a month."

"Are you going to get compensation for this?" Stephen asked, with look of concern.

"Yes, I get half the license fee," Jessi said. "Grace gave me a letter today. She said they were transferring my half to my bank account."

"So, how much did you get?" Josh said.

"Josh! That's her business," Nicole said with a gentle rebuke.

"I didn't open it," Jessi said. "It's in my room. Should I get it?"

"Of course," Stephen said. He looked over at Nicole and shook his head bemusedly.

"We can all celebrate over dessert," Nicole said enthusiastically.

Jessi returned with the envelope and handed it to Stephen. She sat looking at him expectantly.

"You want _me_ to open it?" He asked.

"Sure," She smiled.

"Drum roll," Josh said.

Stephen opened the envelope, looked inside. He paged through the letter and came to the wire transfer at the end. His smile faded and his face paled.

"Stephen, what is it?" Nicole asked, concerned.

Stephen looked at Nicole eyes wide then looked at Jessi. "Jessi," he said, "This wire transfer is for a million dollars."

"The girl is rich," Josh shouted.

"We are _definitely_ going shopping!" Lori said.

Nicole said, "No one is going shopping until we figure this out. Stephen?"

Stephen looked at her, "It really is, a wire transfer for a million dollars into Jessi Taylor's account." He looked at Jessi, "I guess congratulations are in order."

"Congratulations." Kyle told her.

"They must have really liked it," Jessi said.

"I'll say," Nicole agreed. "Stephen, we are going to have to go talk to Grace. Jessi, you probably shouldn't do anything with the money until we have a chance to talk to her."

Stephen took a breath and said, thoughtfully, "Yes, there will probably be tax issues and all kinds of things to think about. Nicole's right, we need to talk to Grace first. I think first thing in the morning. You and Kyle should come with us."

Jessi looked uncertainly at Kyle, "Did I do something wrong?"

Nicole turned to Jessi, "We're thrilled for you, Jessi. That's just a lot of money and I don't trust things related to Latnok."

"I'll say it's lot of money!" Josh said. "The girl is a millionaire."

"Not after taxes," Stephen said wryly. "But that will still leave a big chunk."

"You'll be able to get your own car right away," Kyle said.

Jessi's smile faded slightly, then brightened, "I will."


	17. The Rack

The activity level at the Rack had settled down, Josh and Amanda had caught up with the backlog and were dealing with the customers as they came in rather than having a waiting line. Amanda saw Nate coming in the door. She took a deep breath and met him at the counter, "I thought you said you were going to get your coffee on campus."

"I have been for the last couple of weeks," Nate shrugged. "But I keep thinking about you. I finally decided that I would come and apologize."

"Didn't you say that you wanted _me_ to apologize?" Amanda challenged.

"Well, I really do think you owe me an apology," Nate said frankly, "But I admit I also owe you one as well. I'm willing to make it."

"So?" Amanda said, she looked at him expectantly.

"I apologize for pushing you and trying to keep you in my room," Nate said. "I was very angry when I thought that you had only pretended to be interested in me to spy on me." He paused and then added, "I had gotten some documents and other things that our organization considered secret. I was afraid that I would get into trouble for letting someone get them."

"You mean Latnok's secrets," Amanda said.

He nodded, "Yes, Latnok's secrets." He shook his head in puzzlement, "I have to say that I'm surprised at you. You say that you liked me and that you accidentally found my files?" He opened his hands. "What made you decide to sneak into my room and take them? I thought I was beginning to get to know you. I would never have thought that you were the kind of girl who would do something like that."

"I can't believe it myself," Amanda reluctantly admitted. "I told Kyle about them and Jessi told me I had to get them."

"And because Jessi told you to break into my room and steal my property, you simply did it?" Nate was incredulous. "Do you do everything Jessi tells you to do?"

"No, I ..." Amanda was at loss for words.

"You'll do anything to help Kyle," Nate prompted.

"I guess, I will," Amanda admitted ruefully.

Nate looked at her for a moment then shook his head. "Amanda, I liked you, I thought we had something started." He sighed, "I guess I still like you but you are obviously still in love with Kyle, I could tell it was far from over the night of the party."

"I guess I am," Amanda said.

"Kyle had no right to my personal files. Jessi had no right to tell you to get them. What you did was a crime," Nate frowned. "You don't seem like the kind of girl who goes around breaking the law."

"Kyle is special ...." Amanda began then stopped herself.

"He certainly is," Nate agreed. "I was working on that hover board project for a year. I had hopes of winning the prize. It was important to me. Then Kyle walked in, needing some fast cash and thirty six hours later he takes it away from me."

"He won it fairly," Amanda said defensively.

"I didn't say he cheated, just that he was able to do more in thirty six hours than I could in a year," Nate protested. "I've worked hard all my life to be the best and he can do in hours what took me months - and do it better. That's hard for me to accept."

"I thought that the two of you were working on a project together," Amanda said.

Nate snorted, "Cassidy assigned the problem to the two of us. He thought that if we worked together for a while we might get along better."

"You seemed fine together when I saw you," Amanda said.

"I described the problem to him. He wrote down the answer and handed it to me. I didn't do anything," Nate said, clearly frustrated. "So, I decided that I had to know more about him. You gave me a clue when you mentioned that he had a ring with the Latnok symbol and that his father was Adam Baylin. I was getting everything I could find out about Adam Baylin's experiments. But I guess you know all about that."

"I do, but..." Amanda started.

"But you can't say," Nate finished. "I understand. You have to keep Kyle's secrets. I've got my guesses but I am not going to put you on the spot. You wouldn't tell me anyway."

"I really can't," Amanda said.

"Amanda, I trusted you and let you into my life. I don't think you treated me very well," Nate said frankly. "I didn't do anything to you to deserve that."

Amanda looked at him stricken. "I guess not," she said reluctantly in a small voice, "I'm sorry."

Nate looked away for a moment then sighed. "I think I should keep having my coffee on campus for a while longer." He looked at her, "I do still wish you well, Amanda. You are a really nice girl, Kyle doesn't deserve you."

Nate turned and left the Rack. Amanda watched him leave with a troubled expression.


	18. Grace's Office

The next morning Stephen, Nicole, Kyle and Jessi gathered around Grace's door. Stephen exchanged glances with Nicole, reached out and knocked. "Come in," She called from inside. They opened the door and hesitantly stood in the doorway. When she saw them, she laughed, "I thought I'd be seeing you here today. Come in, sit down."

Steven and Nicole sat to the left, Jessi and Kyle to the right. Grace asked, "Can I get you anything?" They demurred. "So, I expect you are here about Jessi's money?"

Stephen nodded, "It was quite a shock when she told us about it."

"Well, I will admit I was surprised too," Grace agreed. "The students at some of our campus facilities often come up with marketable ideas. They are, after all, very bright. Six figure payments are not unheard of, we have two or three of them every year at our various facilities around the country, but this is unusually large."

Nicole said, "You have to understand that we have a tendency to be suspicious of things related to Latnok because of our history."

"I can understand that, and we probably don't need to tear open any recent wounds," Grace said. "But the reason that Latnok was so interested in getting Kyle was we had an idea of his potential. Obviously we should have been more interested in Jessi as well."

"Given the way you expressed your interest, that's probably a good thing. Madacorp was interested in Jessi too, and that didn't help her at all," Nicole said with some heat.

Grace held up her hand, "That's in the past, mistakes were made and we are working to correct them." She spread her hands, "This is the kind of thing that we hoped for. Everyone wins."

"So help me understand this. The arrangement is that Latnok packages and markets the idea and splits it with the student?" Stephen asked.

"Yes, Latnok is primarily a research and development company. We have minority investments in a number of companies such as Madacorp which you are familiar with. We also have research and development facilities. The scope of what we do is quite extensive." She turned to Kyle and Jessi, "The next board meeting you'll get to see some of this, we usually spend our time going over lots of figures. It's not usually as dramatic as the last one."

"I hope not," Kyle said.

"I do too," Grace said with a thin smile. She turned back toward Stephen. "We run various facilities like this one at schools around the country. We supply top of the line equipment and support for a select group of students. We mostly intend it as a recruiting mechanism and look for people who stand out to hire for our more traditional companies. But we think that even for the ones who don't get selected, helping them improve their skills is an important contribution to society." She looked at Kyle, "Adam had a strong idealistic streak."

"Are the facilities like this one profitable?" Kyle asked.

"In general they usually generate a small loss. They are expensive to run and our share of the few commercial ideas doesn't quite pay all the expenses. This year we'll be nicely in the black due to Jessi." She smiled at Jessi.

Nicole said, "Since you gave Jessi a million dollars that means her idea was worth twice that. That's lot of money."

"Solar panels are a multi-billion dollar industry," Grace said. "Getting a ten percent..."

"Eleven percent," Jessi interrupted.

Grace nodded at Jessi, "eleven percent improvement is big. The company that licensed it is switching over production and hopes to have the new panels on the market in a month. They hope to get a significantly higher market share -- and move the cost effectiveness point of solar down. They are planning a major ad campaign around the idea that the design comes from plants, tying it into the 'green energy' trend."

"That seems surprisingly fast," Stephen said.

Grace agreed, "Yes, but it's a fast moving industry. There have been lawyers and other staff people working long hours in the last few weeks to make this happen. The beauty of Jessi's work is that it was complete down to the circuit layout masks. That saved months in getting it to market."

"I wanted to make sure that it would really work," Jessi explained. "I did everything I could except actually make the panels -- we don't have the facilities for that."

"It's amazing, but I guess it makes sense," Stephen slowly said. "We couldn't understand what Jessi could have done that was worth a million dollars."

"No one really knows what Kyle and Jessi can accomplish," Grace said. "We're all looking forward to seeing what happens next."

Nicole said, "Well our job is to provide a stable and supportive home for our family, including our new millionaire over there," Jessi smiled at her.

"Well after she pays taxes it will be something over a half million left," Stephen said.

"You should consult with some tax and investing people," Grace said. "If you want some recommendations I can give them to you."

Nicole said, "Still, half a million would certainly provide a good base to get her set up when she's ready to go out on her own, especially if she invests it wisely."

Grace frowned, "I'm not sure you understand. The million dollars is her half of the initial licensing fee. Once they get into production, there will be royalties. We expect in the first year that they will be in the range of two to five hundred thousand, more in the next year and then possibly trailing off as someone finds the next improvement. She'll get half of that as well."

Stephen said, "So, she's going to get between hundred thousand and a quarter million dollars more this year?"

Grace looked at him with a pitying smile, obviously enjoying this. "Monthly."

There was a long silence as they digested this, after which Nicole said, "I guess you were right when you said she wouldn't have to worry about money for college."

_I was pleased for Jessi. She was obviously happy getting the recognition for her work. I was disturbed, though, by my sense that Nicole was unhappy with the changes that this would cause. What bothered me most was the sense of satisfaction that I was getting from Grace. This was clearly something that she felt was furthering her goals. Perhaps this is how it started in the beginning with Latnok, the ability to make money may have diverted them from the goals they sought. But Jessi's invention would clearly help people, would make the world a better place, at least in some small part. How could something that would help the world and make Jessi happy be bad? I had a sense that this was a dangerous development. I just didn't know why._


	19. Car Dealer

It was well after breakfast and the family had scattered in their various directions. Stephen was sitting at the kitchen table with a cup of coffee using his laptop when Jessi came into the room and sat hesitantly next to him. He looked up to see her anxiously looking at him. "Jessi, is there something you want?" He asked.

Jessi asked, "I was wondering if you would help me buy my car?"

"Of course, I'd be glad to help you look for a car. I don't have to be at the campus until this afternoon," he said. "We could go right now if you want."

"That would be great," Jessi said, smiling. "Thank you."

"Do you want to bring Kyle along?" Stephen asked, shutting the computer down and getting up.

"He's with Amanda this morning down at the Rack," Jessi said.

"Then you and I can go," Stephen smiled. "It will be fun."

As they drove to the lot Jessi said, "Thank you for helping me, Stephen."

Stephen smiled and said, "A father is supposed to help his daughter buy her first car."

Jessi said, confused, "Brian has left. I don't think he ..."

Stephen interrupted, "It might be presumptuous of me, but what I meant is that I rather think of you as one of my daughters. This is the fun part of the job."

Jessi smiled, "I like being one of your daughters."

Stephen smiled back, "Have you thought about what kind of a car you are interested in? Are you looking for something used, or a new car?" He paused and then said, "I guess budget isn't an issue, is it?"

"I know what I want," Jessi said with growing enthusiasm. "I want that red convertible that Josh and I were looking at."

"You want the red Corvette?" Stephen said incredulously, "That's a sixty thousand dollar vehicle." He paused for a moment and shrugged, "And in your price range, I guess."

"I want something that people notice," Jessi told him. "I'm tired of people ignoring me."

"I'm not so sure that it's a good idea for either you or Kyle to attract a lot of attention," Stephen said, hesitantly.

"You don't think I should get it?" Jessi asked, frowning.

"I didn't say that," Stephen said. "I'm just cautious about attracting attention. I guess, though, that if I were your age with your bank account, I would definitely have bought something like it," he finished with a grin. "You do need to test drive it, though. That's a very powerful vehicle and could be challenging to drive with your current experience."

"I have very good reflexes," Jessi advised him.

"I'll bet you do," He agreed.

A short time later Jessi pulled the Corvette back into the lot with a screech of tires. The salesman took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Jessi explained, "Stephen said that the car had a lot of power and that I should be sure I could handle it. I wanted to make sure that I could."

Stephen let go of his grip on the side and said, "Well you definitely convinced me!"

As they got out, the salesman said, "As you can see, this is a high performance vehicle." He shuddered slightly but then regained his composure and switched into his sales pitch. "You're lucky today, we have some attractive leasing arrangements or we can arrange some favorable financing. Assuming appropriate credit," He said with a glance at Stephen, "we can get you into this car today."

Stephen looked at Jessi and raised an eyebrow. She gave him a smile and a nod. He said, "I believe the lady is interested. She will be paying cash. Why don't you go talk to your manager and see what kind of a deal you can give her. We'll be along in a moment to see if she's buying today."

The salesman hurried into the dealership and Stephen hung back to talk to Jessi.

"Do you still want it?" He asked.

"Yes," Jessi said, "but I don't know how to buy a car. Don't you have to negotiate?"

"Would you like me to negotiate for you?" He asked.

"I'd like that," Jessi said. "I've never bought a car before." She grinned, "and isn't it a Father's job?"

"It certainly is," Stephen said. "Now with you along I'm going to have fun. We can be pretty aggressive. You can give me feedback on when he's telling the truth and when he's prevaricating."

"Is he likely to lie?" Jessi asked, puzzled.

"Lie, is a strong word. In negotiating, he may take positions that misrepresent his ability to lower the price. It's part of the process. It will be useful to know when that is the case and when we actually do hit his limit," Stephen said.

"I can do that," Jessi said.

"He is also likely to go talk to his manager one or more times," Stephen said, getting into the spirit of the game. "It would be good to know what they say."

"Isn't that eavesdropping?" Jessi asked. "I thought Nicole said I shouldn't listen to private conversations."

"This is car buying!" Stephen said, "We give ourselves a little latitude."

"You're right," Jessi agreed with a smile. "This could be fun."


	20. The Rack

The morning rush was still going on at the Rack as various patrons got their morning coffees, rolls and otherwise fortified themselves for the day. Kyle was sitting at a table near the counter, nursing a smoothie participating in one of his favorite activities: Watching Amanda. The Rack was relatively busy so she and Josh were moving about mixing smoothies, taking orders, making change. From time to time, Amanda would smile at him.

When the rush had lessened, she mixed her own smoothie then came over to sit with Kyle. She smiled at him, "Is watching me make smoothies the only thing you have to do today?"

"I like watching you make smoothies," Kyle said smiling.

Amanda blushed, "But shouldn't you be over at UDub at ..." she said, trailing off.

"At Latnok," Kyle completed, "I know you don't like me being there, but Jessi and I are trying to push them in a good direction. We're helping with good projects."

Amanda's smile faded and she frowned, "I just can't help it. I still associate them with the kidnapping and the ... other things." She finished, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Which is why we have to push them in a different direction," Kyle said, reaching out and taking hold of her hand.

"I know," She said squeezing his hand and looking up again. Then she said, remembering, "Nate came into the Rack again."

"He did?" Kyle said sitting up, concern on his face. "What did he want this time?"

Amanda said, "He apologized to me for how he treated me."

"He certainly should have," Kyle said heatedly.

"But he also said I owed him an apology too," Amanda said, and continued thoughtfully. "And, he's right, you know. I had no right to sneak into his room and take files from his computer." She paused, "He trusted me, and I treated him poorly."

"We had to do get the files on that project," Kyle said. "I don't think Jessi should have sent you but we needed to do it."

"I know you felt the project should be stopped. But was Nate a part of it? Did that give me the right to steal his files from him?" Amanda asked. "I'm not the kind of person who steals things, Kyle."

"I didn't like doing it either," Kyle admitted. "That's one of the reasons that we are cooperating with Latnok, so that we can change things without having to do things like that. I'll never ask you to do anything like that again, I promise."

"I hope so," Amanda said. "I don't like turning into the kind of person who would betray someone who trusted me."

_When I had told Nicole that I was going to have to break into Cassidy's room to get the copy of the formula, she had been worried that I was changing, becoming someone who would break laws and was no longer the person she knew. Now, Amanda was feeling the same feelings about herself. Stopping Cassidy's experiment had been important, but the price had been high. Amanda had told me that I was one of the good guys and I had told her that I tried to be. I needed to keep that promise._


	21. Trager House

Stephen pulled into the driveway, closely followed by Jessi in the red Corvette. They headed into the house sharing conspiratorial grins. Nicole looked up as they entered the kitchen and picked up on the mood.

"What have you two been up to?" She asked.

"We've been out car shopping," Stephen said. "Jessi asked me to help her get a car."

"I bought a car for myself," Jessi said.

"So what kind of a car did you get, Jessi?" Nicole asked, wrinkling her brow, puzzled at the obvious conspiratorial mood.

"You should go look," Stephen said with a smile. He looked at Jessi, "Why don't you take her out and show her?"

Jessi grinned at him then looked at Nicole questioningly.

"By all means," Nicole said, gesturing for Jessi to lead the way.

"Is Lori home?" Stephen asked.

"I think she's in her room," Nicole said.

"She'll want to come out too," He walked to the stairway and called up the stairs. "Lori, come outside."

"I think I have to see this car," Nicole said.

When Nicole saw the red Corvette, she stopped for a moment then carefully said, "Jessi, it's beautiful." Jessi smiled proudly. Nicole then looked meaningfully at Stephen and directed a quiet comment at him, "Perhaps she should have taken an adult along."

Lori came out the door saying, "Dad, what did you want?"

Stephen pointed to the car and said, "Jessi's new car."

Lori said, "That's really awesome." She turned to Jessi, "Can I have a ride ... just around a block or two?"

"Sure," Jessi said smiling, "Get in."

They pulled out and drove off. Nicole turned to Stephen, "Stephen, how could you let Jessi buy that car?"

Stephen looked sheepish. "I couldn't see the harm in it. She wanted something flashy and I know if I were her age with her ability to afford it, I would have bought a sports car. Wouldn't you? Admit it."

Nicole shrugged, "Probably so, it certainly would have been great to pull into the school parking lot in something like that." She smiled. "That doesn't mean it was a good idea."

Stephen put his arm around her. "She rather had her mind made up," He said.

Nicole sighed, "The problem is she feels insecure and wants attention. This will certainly get it but I'm not sure it's the kind of attention she's prepared to deal with."

The car pulled back into the driveway. Jessi and Lori got out. As they were walking away from it, Lori was saying, "We need to go somewhere in your car. Maybe we can go to the mall and go shopping later?"

"That would be nice, maybe I can find another new top," Jessi said.

"The last one was popular," Lori laughed. "Hey, and I need to get something for my singing gig." They went into the house continuing to make plans.

"It's nice to see them do something besides bicker," Stephen said.

"True," Nicole admitted, "I guess I'm just a worrier."


	22. The Rack

It was late in the afternoon at the Rack, near the end of Josh's shift. There were very few customers. Katie was sitting at the counter nursing a smoothie. Josh was leaning over talking to her. "The three of us are really racking up points on G-Force," Josh said. "We're about to go up another level."

"We're a good team," Katie agreed, "We seem to all be in sync." She paused and asked, "Are you making any progress on your plans to go visit Andy?"

"Slowly," Josh said, "It's going very slowly. This is not a high paying job, and her mothers aren't happy with the idea either."

Jessi came in the door and strode over to Josh, "Stephen told me I should give you a ride home from work today."

"Why did he think I needed a ride home?" Josh asked.

"He thought you would enjoy it," Jessi said.

Josh looked puzzled then turned to Katie and said, "I guess, I'm going home now."

Katie looked at her empty glass, "I'm going too."

Josh hung up his apron and walked out the door. Jessi and Katie followed.

"That is one cool machine," Josh said admiring the red Corvette. "I wonder whose it is?"

"Do you like my car?" Jessi asked, proudly.

"Your car! This is _your_ car?" Josh exclaimed. "Now I see why dad thought I would like a ride home. Absolutely." He turned to Katie, "Well, I guess I'll see you next time you need a smoothie." Katie impulsively gave Josh a hug and he returned it awkwardly. "Um..." He said.

"Have fun," Katie said, and turned to walk down the street.

He watched Katie for a moment, shrugged, then climbed into the passenger seat as Jessi got behind the wheel.

"How fast can this baby go?" Josh asked.

"Not very fast in the city," Jessi said. "Stephen says that a red convertible is a ticket magnet and I have to watch the speed limit." She shrugged, "I could probably outrun the police, but then Kyle would be mad at me."


	23. Kyle & Amanda

Kyle rang Amanda's doorbell. After a moment, the door opened and Carol Bloom looked out. "Hello Kyle," she said, then turned her head and called to Amanda, "Amanda, Kyle's here." She smiled at Kyle, "You two are going to the movies?"

"Yes," Kyle said, "And maybe we'll stop by the Rack for a smoothie afterward."

Carol looked past him to the red Corvette in the Trager driveway, "So, is that Jessi's new car I've been hearing about?"

"Yes it is," Kyle said.

"That's a very expensive car," Carol said, "I didn't think ..." just then Amanda came out past her.

"Hi, Kyle," Amanda said, "Sorry I'm late." She glanced at her mother, then back to Kyle. "We better get going or we are going to miss our movie."

"But we..." Kyle began and Amanda took him firmly by the arm and led him away.

"Have a nice time," Carol called after them and stood watching.

"But we have plenty of time," Kyle protested, "the movie isn't for another hour."

"I'm sorry, Kyle," Amanda said as they walked to his car. "I didn't want to stand there while she grilled you about Jessi's car."

"Why would she grill me about Jessi's car?" Kyle asked, opening the door for her.

"She's obsessed," Amanda said, rolling her eyes. Kyle closed the door, went around to the driver's side and got in. He started the engine and pulled away from the curb.

As they drove, he glanced at Amanda, "She's obsessed?"

"She's been going on about it all day," Amanda explained. "I'm getting tired of hearing about it. I think she's still feeling guilty about selling my convertible."

"It was a very nice car," Kyle commiserated, "I'm sorry you had to get rid of it."

"Me too, losing my piano was much worse, though," Amanda said, "You saved me with the one you got for me."

"I wish I could have gotten you a nicer one," Kyle said.

"You keep it tuned. I like the feel," Amanda said, smiling, "And it makes me think of you when I play."

"I like listening to you play," Kyle smiled.

Amanda smiled back, "So, Jessi bought that car herself?"

"She did," Kyle agreed. "She invented a new format for solar cells and has made quite a bit of money. She'll probably make several million dollars from it in the next few years."

"Jessi the millionaire! So, are you going to invent something and make a million dollars too?" Amanda asked.

Kyle laughed, "Do you want me to be a millionaire?"

"No," Amanda said. "Well, it wouldn't be bad." She smiled, "I think you are smarter than Jessi and that you can do anything she can."

"It's not a competition," Kyle said. "I'm just trying to accomplish something useful. Jessi is too, but she has a harder time talking to people, so she works more by herself."

"You did win that hover board competition and got money for that," Amanda said.

"Yes, but I did that because we needed to pay for Nicole's hospital bill," Kyle said. "Do you think I should be trying to make money?"

"As long as you're doing something that makes you happy, that's all that's important," Amanda said. "Speaking of the competition, have you ever figured out what Nate was doing with your files?"

"Not yet," Kyle admitted. "I don't think he was actively working with Cassidy. I've been trying to let things calm down between us before I try to do anything with him. Has he been back in the Rack again?"

"No," Amanda said. "You just reminded me of it with the hover board."

"Good, I don't really like him around you, I don't trust him," Kyle said. "Here's the theater. Now we just have to find a place to park."

Amanda said, "I'm really sorry for making you take me to all these romantic movies."

"Chick Flicks," Kyle smiled. "I like them too -- if I'm with you." He looked at her with concern, "Are you still having trouble sleeping?"

"Some," Amanda admitted. "This has been an exciting summer."

"Don't worry, I'll protect you," Kyle assured her.

She leaned against his arm. "My Superman," she said, patting his shoulder.

"I'm only a rainy day Superman," Kyle said.

"Rainy day?" Amanda asked.

"I can only fly when the ground is wet," Kyle said.

_Amanda was still troubled by the events of the summer. I wondered how long it would take to undo the damage Cassidy and Latnok had done to her -- and that I had compounded by not being honest with her. I also sensed that her usual competitiveness with Jessi had been heightened by Jessi's success and her new car. I didn't want to get into competition with Jessi, but Amanda seemed competitive on my behalf._


	24. Declan & Jackie

The restaurant was in a large converted brown wooden house with white trim around the many windows. It had obviously had porches enclosed over time and gave the impression of having had additions made over the years. The paint was fading in places. Jackie said, "It doesn't look like much, but a lot of the people over at UDub swear by this place. I hope you like Indian food."

"I love Indian food," Declan confessed. They climbed up the flight of worn wooden steps with white railings. At the top, they turned right and went through the door. The interior reflected the building's beginning as a house with tables in various rooms. The host came up to greet them. "Two," Declan told him."

"This way," he said and led them through the white framed doorway to a small cherry wood table near one of the many windows looking out over the street. As they were sitting down, he set two menus on the table and said, "Your waiter will be with you in a moment."

They spent a few minutes looking over the menus and negotiating which dishes to share until the waiter came to the table, "Do you need more time?"

Declan looked at Jackie, and she nodded. He said, "No, we're ready. We would like the Chicken Vindaloo, and the Mango Curry lamb ... and some Garlic Nan."

"Perhaps the Pesto Nan would be better," Jackie suggested with a smile.

"Make that the Pesto Nan," Declan agreed.

Jackie said, "I'm told we need to order their Chai tea."

Declan said, "Then by all means, Chai tea."

"So, are things settling down at Latnok?" Declan asked after the waiter left.

"The excitement is pretty much over," Jackie said. "Everyone's pretty happy, Kyle is wonderful, he sees through the things that are blocking your progress and points you in ways you hadn't thought of before. We're all making great progress. He get's along well with everyone. Well, everyone except Nate. The two of them have had an antipathy since the first day."

"What about Jessi?" Declan asked.

"She mostly keeps to herself. She's brilliant too, but there's an intensity that is hard to get by. She's helped me a lot," Jackie said, "We've been trying to move from simply increasing growth to increasing nutritional value as well."

"You're really into crops," Declan observed.

"I grew up on a farm in Nebraska," Jackie explained, "I'm very conscious of the process of growing food and the importance of agriculture in putting food on the table."

"So how did you wind up in Seattle?" Declan asked.

"I wanted to get away from the plains, to see the ocean," Jackie said.

"And to get rained on daily?" Declan asked.

"Well, I don't really mind that. I like Seattle. I was also able to get a full scholarship here which certainly helped with the decision," Jackie said. "I think Latnok had a hand in that."

" _Have_ you been able to improve the nutritional value?" Declan asked.

"Jessi's pointed out some unusual approaches to gene splicing which will really increase the value of the plant in the food chain," Jackie said. "This could be big. I'm pretty excited about what's coming together. I had been hoping to get something that could be a thesis project out of it. Now I'm beginning to glimpse the possibility of something that could have a real effect on the world. While we worry about dieting, a lot of people in the world still go hungry."

"Jessi can be intense," Declan said with a chuckle.

"I know you're Kyle's friend, do you know Jessi well?" Jackie asked.

"I dated her, a couple of times," Declan said, "Actually I was her first boyfriend, but I don't think she remembers me."

"How long ago was that?" Jackie asked.

"Last year," Declan said.

"And she doesn't remember you?" Jackie asked with a puzzled frown, "How is that possible?"

"It's complicated," Declan said. "I can't talk about it."

"You like being mysterious," Jackie observed with a smile.

"It helps distract you from the fact that you are dating a High School Senior and washed up basketball player," Declan said.

"You don't feel like a washed up anything. I'm comfortable with you, Declan," Jackie said. "You have a calmness that's represents maturity. You feel like someone that I can lean on, someone who can be counted on."

"That sounds pretty boring," Declan objected.

"Oh, you're someone who I can cuddle with too," Jackie said.

"Cuddling is good," Declan nodded with a smile.

Jackie smiled, "See, there was a reason to not get the Garlic Nan."


	25. Lori & Jessi Shopping

At the mall, Lori and Jessi were in one of the clothing boutiques looking through the racks of clothes. Lori commented, "That car is certainly a guy magnet. Did you see those cute guys watching us as we pulled up?"

"I didn't see them, I wasn't looking," Jessi answered. She looked into space for a moment and then said, "Those two guys. The dark haired one with the checked shirt, jeans and black boots was rather good looking."

Lori stared for a moment then shrugged, "Two hot girls in a red sports car definitely attract attention."

"Are we hot girls?" Jessi asked.

"Today we are," Lori said. "Enjoy it. So I've got to find something to wear for my singing gig. What says soulful, intelligent song writer?" Lori asked. "And is in my price range?"

"Are you nervous about being on stage?" Jessi asked.

"No, I've done it before, it should be fine," Lori assured her. "What makes you think I am?"

"Your heart beat rate jumps whenever you talk about it," Jessi pointed out.

"Ok, I guess I _am_ nervous. It's frightening to get up in front of a college crowd and sing my songs. It makes me feel exposed," Lori said.

"So you need new clothes to cover yourself up?" Jessi asked.

"I guess, I do," Lori admitted.

Jessi held up a blue blouse with some frills, "How do you think this would look on me?"

"Ugh," Lori shook her head, frowning, "I don't think you do frills. I think you need more of a clean and classy look."

"So if it makes you frightened, why do you want to do it?" Jessi asked.

"Well, partially because Mark thought that it would help me and I didn't want to let him down so I agreed," Lori explained. "Now, I'm regretting it -- except it did help me sharpen the songs I was working on. I like how they are coming."

"They're not as bad as they used to be," Jessi said, "You are improving."

Lori looked at her and sighed. She picked up a cream blouse with some frills and said, "Does this say intelligent song writer?"

"It doesn't clash with your hair color," Jessi offered.

"Maybe with a vest?" Lori mused, ignoring her.

"Why are you writing songs?" Jessi asked.

"Because..." Lori stopped and thought. "I guess because when I broke up with Declan I was sitting around 'not dating Declan' but that wasn't enough. I had to be something myself. I started writing songs. I like it. It's part of my connection with Mark. Music as a search for self -- there could be a song in that."

"But you've always known who you were," Jessi said, puzzled. "You've had Nicole and Stephen and Josh all your life, you've had family. When Kyle rescued me from Madacorp, I had nothing. No connections to anyone -- except Kyle." She sighed, "And all he could think of was Amanda."

"I suppose so. When you look at it that way, I really shouldn't have anything to complain about," Lori said. "But what am I going to be when I leave my family behind and go out into the world? I guess that's part of the question every teenager asks themselves."

"I'm still working to become part of a family," Jessi said. "Nicole is helping me."

"You're doing better," Lori assured her, getting a grateful look in return.

Jessi held up a blouse, "What do you think of this?"

Lori nodded and said, "That would look nice on you." She paused for a moment then said the magic words, "Kyle would like it." Jessi smiled and tossed it over her arm.

Lori picked up a vest and held it next to the blouse. "These look good together. Let me try them on." She went into the dressing room while Jessi continued to look through the clothes. She came out looking dejected.

Jessi asked, "Didn't they fit?"

"They fit fine -- and looked great," Lori said. "Then I looked at the price tags, they're out of my price range. I don't have that much money to spend."

Jessi shrugged, "I'll buy them for you. I have plenty of money."

"I guess you do," Lori said reluctantly. "I suppose that would be ok, it does feel strange."

"Why does it feel strange?" Jessi asked.

"I should be buying my own clothes," Lori said.

"But you can't afford it and I can," Jessi pointed out.

"I suppose so," She took a breath, deciding. "Thank you, Jessi."

"You're welcome," Jessi said.


	26. Josh's Room

The late morning sun came through the window as Josh sat in his room, door closed, talking with Andy on his computer. "This is really hard, I miss you so much," he said.

"I know. I miss you too," Andy agreed, "I knew this was going to happen, G-Force and video chats aren't the same as cuddling on the couch together."

"I do like playing G-Force with you. We've always spent a lot of time doing that," Josh said, "I thought I could pretend you were still here. After all when you're on-line together it's really the same if you are a block away or two thousand miles."

"But you are always thinking what you are going to say over smoothies later," Andy said. "I know."

"It would be better if I knew some definite time when we were going to get to see each other again," Josh said, "But it's just some time in the future. I'm trying to save money for a plane fare, but I don't think I'm going to be able to save enough before school starts again."

"Even if you could, my mothers are still against you coming to visit," Andy said. "They are sympathetic but tell me that I'm too young to maintain a long distance relationship. They say that all it will do is prolong the inevitable and make us both suffer longer."

"I suppose that if I couldn't stay at your place, I could stay in a hotel, but that would cost hundreds of dollars more," Josh complained, "I already can't make the money fast enough."

"I don't think Nicole would let you come here and stay in a hotel." Andy said.

"Having the privacy would be great," Josh said.

"Yes, and both my mothers and your mother and father would know exactly what we were going to do with it," Andy reflected sarcastically, "I doubt any of them would approve."

"Well, I have to do something," Josh said. "I can't stand not being able to touch you."

"Well, you can look," Andy said, unbuttoning a button.

"I have to admit that's a lot better than looking at magazines." Josh said, "But when you've had the real thing, watching pixels on the screen is a very poor substitute."

"Maybe I was right in the first place when I set you up with Katie. I think you two would be nice together. She tells me that she's chatted with you at the Rack," Andy said. "Maybe you should ask her out. I think she's stuck on you -- I did a good job."

"No," Josh said firmly. "I just have to figure out how to make this work. I won't give up on us."

"You _are_ stubborn," Andy said. "You wouldn't give up when I tried to get rid of you because I didn't want you to have to deal with my cancer treatments. But you stuck with me through it all."

"And see, you were cured," Josh said.

Andy laughed, "I don't think you can be cured of Cleveland."

"Of course you can," Josh disagreed, "You just move back to Seattle."

"That's not going to happen. My mother really likes her job here," Andy said, "I don't think we are going to be moving anywhere in the near future. I'm here until I go to college."

"I know your mothers are discouraging me coming," Josh said. "What if I just showed up? Would they send me away?"

"Well, you don't have the money, so there's no point in arguing about it, is there?" Andy said.

"I guess not," Josh stared at the screen in thought. He smiled and said, "You know when I said that looking at a screen was a poor substitute? I didn't mean to say that the experience was an unpleasant one."

Andy laughed and reached for another button.


	27. Grace & Cassidy

"This is one of the nicer places in Cambridge," Michael Cassidy commented to Grace as he opened the door and waved her into the restaurant. The interior was decorated in a style reminiscent of the south of France, with large pictures of rural Provence, hanging between the pillars that separated the elegant dining area from the equally elegant bar.

The Maitre D' led them down the aisle between tables set with white linen and wine glasses, past the white columns flanked by greenery. The warm light made the small but sophisticated bistro warm and inviting. He held a chair for Grace as she sat down. Cassidy sat across from her. He nodded to the waiter who joined them at the table, "Harold will be taking care of you tonight."

Harold handed them each a menu already opened and said, "Tonight the chef particularly recommends the pan roasted Atlantic halibut. It comes with rock shrimp risotto and a preserved lemon and shellfish nage. I'll let you take a moment to look at our other selections, if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask."

Grace looked across the table at Cassidy, "So, how are you settling into Cambridge?"

"So far, it's going well," he shrugged. "There are a number of very bright students that are part of our program here."

"Well, it's MIT, what do you expect? It draws a more elite group than the University of Washington," Grace said.

"We hand picked and recruited some of those kids, they were very capable," Cassidy protested.

"I know you worked hard on that group, but I had to get you out of there. Your position was untenable," Grace said.

"I thought that girl was going to kill me," Cassidy agreed.

"She might yet," Grace warned, "We need to keep the two of you apart."

Harold returned to the table, "May I answer any questions?"

Grace said, "I think I'll have the Veal Milanese."

Harold said, "And you sir?"

"The Rack of Lamb looks good to me." Cassidy said. He looked at Grace, "Do we want wine?"

"Let's have a bottle of the Volney, 'Vielles Vignes', Grace decided.

"Very well," Harold said, and turned to leave.

"Speaking of that, some of the board members are pressuring me about Sarah Emerson. They aren't inclined to let it rest. Sarah was one of us at the beginning, you know," Grace said. She gave Cassidy a penetrating look, "What really happened?"

"I told you, she attacked me. She was a wild woman," Cassidy said. "I didn't mean to hurt her. Then it was too late."

"I believe you," Grace said. "Sarah could be passionate -- and impulsive." She opened her hands and leaned forward to make her point, "But Jessi doesn't, so we keep you apart and hope that in the end the board accepts your explanation." She shrugged, "They will. They don't really have any good alternatives, after all." She paused, "Speaking of Jessi, the girl has done a better job on her own that I could have arranged."

"What do you mean?" Cassidy asked.

"I had hoped to show her that she could make some money, tempt her with a vision of the good life," Grace chuckled. "She came up with an idea that's going to make her several million over the next couple of years. It's actually enough to impact our whole student program. You should have a couple hundred thousand more for your group here in next year's budget."

"Your plan is to make them rich?" Cassidy asked, skeptical. "How will that help?"

"Greed is one of the seven deadly sins. Vanity is another. The girl is driving a new red Corvette convertible!" Grace laughed. "Next I'm going to nudge Kyle to compete with her. I can probably pick up Envy with that. I think they are going to pick up Lust on their own," Grace chuckled. "Nicole Trager is going to love dealing with that!"

"So, how does that get them working on what we want them to work on?" Cassidy asked, frowning.

"Once they want things, we can find ways to help them get them. Ways that, incidentally, get us what we want too," Grace said. "Trying to force them was never going to work. You were just focusing their abilities against yourself."

"Well, it's in your hands, now," Cassidy said. "I'm still getting set up here, learning the staff and their capabilities. It's probably going to be a couple more months before I..."

Grace held up a hand. "Don't tell me the details of your plans. The two of them are really good at reading people. I don't want to know things that they might get from me."

"You think that they can read minds?" Cassidy asked, incredulously.

"No, but they are very good at perceiving physiological changes based on your reaction to key words. I don't want to know a lot of key words," Grace said. "It's a bit awkward having them underfoot so much."

"I couldn't believe you put them on the Latnok board," Cassidy said.

"I couldn't help it," Grace said. "The meeting got out of control. They liked Kyle. Remember the organization was originally put together by Adam Baylin and reflected an idealistic mindset. Kyle speaks to that. Some of us have become more pragmatic, but there are still a number of members who dream of the 'golden days' when Adam led us. I thought we had dealt with that but apparently not."

"So, how long do you plan on running the University of Washington group?" Cassidy asked.

"For a while longer at least -- It's good to get to know them and what they can do, how they think, but information is flowing in both directions. I'm going to have to distance myself from them soon." Grace said.

Harold and another waiter appeared with their meals and the wine. After he poured it and then left, Cassidy said, "Well, if you need distance you can always come here -- the food isn't bad."


	28. Lori's Performance

Nicole was cleaning up the dinner dishes while Stephen was reviewing papers at the kitchen table when Lori came into the room carrying her guitar case, followed closely by Jessi. "Jessi's driving me over early to meet with Mark. I need to get there and settle my nerves."

"That sounds like a good idea. When do you think you are going to do your set?" Nicole asked.

"Mark says about 9:00 but it's not highly scheduled," Lori answered. "Mark says that I have to be ready from about 8:00 on."

"Your father and I will be there," Nicole said. "Kyle is bringing Amanda, so he'll be driving separately."

"Josh told me he couldn't get out of his shift tonight," Lori said. "He said that he would catch me next time -- if there is a next time. I'm not sure they'll let me back in after tonight, I'll be so bad."

"You're not that bad anymore," Jessi reassured her, earning an annoyed look from Lori.

"You're far from bad," Nicole assured her. "You look really nice. I don't think I've seen that outfit before. Is it new?"

"I bought it for her," Jessi said proudly.

Nicole looked questioningly at Lori who said, somewhat defensively, "I really liked it and couldn't afford it. Jessi offered to buy it."

"Well it looks really nice," Nicole said.

"Thank you," Lori said. She turned to Jessi, "Let's get going. Maybe I'll be less nervous there."

After Jessi and Lori left, Nicole sat at the table, frowning. Stephen looked up, "Is there something wrong?"

"It doesn't feel right for Jessi to be buying things for Lori. Ever since she's gotten the money I've been worried about it. Money can easily get in the way of relationships and she's already having such a hard time building them. She certainly doesn't need a handicap."

"I can't see the harm in it," Stephen said. "It certainly isn't as if it's going to put a dent in her bank account. And she has past issues to Lori to make up."

"She can't make them up with cash," Nicole said.

"That's true," Stephen agreed. "We should probably be getting over there too. She may be going on early."

As they were going out the door, they met Kyle, who was dejectedly coming back from Amanda's house."

"What's the matter, Kyle?" Nicole asked.

"Mrs. Bloom won't let Amanda go. She says there's no way her daughter is going with me to a college bar late on a Saturday night," Kyle said.

"Did you tell her that we were going too?" Stephen asked.

"It didn't make any difference," Kyle said. "It's Mrs. Bloom."

"Well, you can ride with us, then," Nicole said.

When they got to 'Pockets' the place was moderately full. There was someone with a guitar singing in the front. Most of the tables were full near the stage. There were tables available in the back of the room. Mark, Lori and Jessi were sitting at one of them. Stephen said, "Nicole and I will sit over here, why don't you go sit with them."

As Kyle sat down at the table, Jessi looked around and asked, "Where's Amanda?"

"Mrs. Bloom wouldn't let her come," Kyle said.

"That's too bad," Lori said. Jessi looked down and smiled slightly, then leaned slightly closer to Kyle. Lori and Mark exchanged glances.

A tall thin man with a goatee came over and said, "Hi Mark, is this the girl?"

Mark said, "Yes, this is Lori Trager. Lori, meet Gary Baker, he manages the music here."

"Hello, Lori," Gary said, "Mark has been regaling me with stories about your work. I'm looking forward to hearing you sing."

"I'm going to try," Lori said.

"You'll do fine," Gary assured her. "You are going to be up after Sue." He nodded at the stage. "She's just getting started on her set."

"Thank you," Lori said.

"Break a leg, talk to you afterward," Gary said, and turned to leave.

"So soon?" Lori asked. "I thought I would have more time to enjoy the stomach acid."

"You _will_ do fine," Mark said, "just follow the plan." He reached over and held her hand.

As Sue was getting into her set, Lori sighed and picked up her guitar case to go to the side and get ready to go on. "Break a leg," Kyle said, with a grin.

In a short time Sue finished her last song and left the stage to applause. Gary stepped onto the stage and announced, "And next we have Lori Trager, making her first appearance here. Let's give her a hand." There was polite applause as she walked on stage. She put her music on the stand, adjusted the microphone and picked up her guitar.

She hit a firm D chord and went into the first song, it was angry and hurt. Her voice was strong and emotionally powerful. There was a moderate applause afterward. Mark said, "The first number was to get their attention. She needed them to focus for this one."

Lori shifted into a minor key and moved into a sad song that was tinged in despair. The words were more poetic than lyrical. The soft, heart felt, lyrics drew them in and the room quieted as they listened. As they were listening, Jessi gently placed her hand on Kyle's arm where it was resting on the table. He touched her hand in acknowledgement.

When Lori finished, the applause was louder and members of the audience nodded to one another. Mark commented, "That was the real song, the one we wanted people to hear."

"You seem to know a lot about this," Kyle observed.

"I'm a DJ, I put together song sequences," Mark said. "Lori's strength is in her words. That one's caught them, now she's going to let them go."

"Catch and release, like fish," Kyle said, smiling. Mark nodded.

The next song was, more upbeat, with a bit of hope to it, a major key instead of a minor one. At the end she got a strong applause as she bowed and left the stage and the next person came up to take her place.

She arrived at the table, carrying her guitar, flushed and breathless. "How was it?" She asked, looking at Mark.

"It worked perfectly," Mark said, "just as we planned."

"You were great," Kyle said.

As the next act was getting underway, Gary came back to the table and looked at Mark. "Good find," He said, "just like you said." He turned to Lori, "That was great. I hope we'll see you here for another set next month."

Lori smiled, "I'll be glad to." Mark squeezed her hand.

"If that goes well, I'd like to work you up to a concert set eventually," Gary said.

"That seems pretty ambitious," Lori said.

Mark disagreed, "You can do it. You need to build a little bigger repertoire, but you have plenty of stuff that can be polished up.

"Great!" Gary said, "I'll be looking forward to next time. Enjoy the evening." He turned and went off to get ready to announce the next act.

"See, you weren't so bad that they wouldn't let you come back," Jessi said.


	29. Trager House Discussions

The next morning found the Tragers sitting around the breakfast table recounting the previous evening's activities.

Nicole said, "I have to say, Lori, that I liked the second song best of all."

"Mark said that it was the one they wanted everyone to listen to," Kyle said.

Nicole looked questioningly at Lori who explained, "Mark thought that it was my best one. He thought it was too subtle to simply drop on them without getting their attention first, so he had me sing the first song which is louder and had a more obvious message."

"That's pretty subtle," Steven said. "I didn't know that much strategy went into singing a few songs."

"Mark has a lot of experience building song sequences," Lori said.

"Well, I liked them all, of course," Nicole said. "It's wonderful to see you able to express yourself in your music. Josh, you are going to have to come and listen to your sister next time."

"I'm sorry I missed it," Josh said, "I'm still taking extra shifts to try to save as much as I can."

Nicole turned to Lori, "There is going to be a next time, isn't there?"

"Yes, Gary said that he really liked my set and that I should definitely plan another one for next month," Lori said. "Mark says that now that they know me I can probably do a couple more like the second. Of course I have to write them first!"

"I have to say, Lori, I'm really impressed with your emerging talent," Nicole said. "This whole song writing thing seems to be really good for you."

"I think so too," Lori agreed. "I'm going to go to my room and do some work now. Mark and I are meeting later to debrief and start planning the next time." She got up from the table and headed out.

Kyle said, "I'm going to go down to the Rack for a while this morning."

"He's going to watch Amanda work," Jessi said.

"Are you going too?" Nicole asked.

"No, that would spoil his view," Jessi said.

Stephen asked, "Why would you being there spoil his view?"

"Amanda wouldn't be smiling," Jessi explained. "I'm going to go to my room and do some searches on my computer."

"And I am going to be talking to Andy," Josh said.

The three of them scattered in different directions leaving Stephen and Nicole in the kitchen. Stephen asked Nicole, "Did Jessi just make a joke?"

"I'm not sure," Nicole said, looking in the direction she had gone.

* * *

Jessi was sitting in her room calling up displays on her computer when Josh opened the door and said, "Jessi, can I ask you something?"

Jessi said, "What do you want to ask me."

Josh came into her room and sat down, "You know that I am trying to save enough money for a plane ticket to go visit Andy."

"I know that. You talk about it all the time," Jessi said with a hint of exasperation.

"Yeah, I guess so," Josh said, "Here's the problem. I am not going to be able to save enough before the beginning of the school year. Once school starts it will be much harder to arrange," he paused, "I have to do it before then."

"That doesn't seem possible if you aren't going to be able to save enough. Do you think Stephen and Nicole will give it to you?" Jessi asked.

"No, I don't think they will," Josh said, then he took a deep breath, then said in a rush, "I was wondering if I could borrow it from you. I need about three hundred and fifty dollars. I would pay you back during the school year."

Jessi frowned in thought, "Do you think Nicole would approve?"

"Why not?" Josh asked, "Brothers and sisters loan each other money all the time. Sometimes I borrow money from Lori. Sometimes she borrows it from me." Jessi smiled at being included in the brothers and sisters.

"Does Lori have three hundred and fifty dollars?" Jessi asked.

"No, but obviously you do," Josh said.

"That's true," Jessi agreed.

"Then, how about it, would you loan me the money?" Josh asked. "I'll pay it back."

"All right," Jessi said. "I'll have to get some cash out of the bank first."

"You don't have to do it right away, let's wait until I get the trip approved. Thank you, Jessi," Josh said. He left excitedly.

* * *

Nicole and Stephen were still in the kitchen when Josh came back into the room.

"I thought you were going to call Andy," Stephen said.

"There's something I wanted to talk to you two about first," Josh said. "I want to arrange a trip back to see her. I want to know if I have your permission to go ahead."

"I thought you didn't have enough money," Nicole objected.

"I've got it arranged," Josh said.

Stephen frowned, "Wait a minute, what do you mean _arranged_? How much have you got saved?"

"Well, I've saved two hundred and fifty so far. Jessi will loan me the rest. I'll pay her back during the school year," Josh said.

" _Jessi_ will loan you the money?" Stephen asked, surprised.

"Jessi will _not_ loan you the money," Nicole said emphatically. "That's out of the question."

"But she has plenty," Josh objected. "She doesn't mind."

"Well, _I_ mind," Nicole said. "Jessi is a member of your family, not a bank. She's trying hard to fit in. It's wrong to take advantage of her this way."

Josh looked at Stephen who agreed, "Your mother is right. You have to give it back."

"She hasn't given it to me yet," Josh said, dejectedly. "I said to wait until I had the trip arranged."

Stephen said, "I understand how much you want to go to see Andy. I can't approve of you borrowing the money to do it though -- from anyone. And I don't want to hear of you treating Jessi as a mark for one of your schemes again."

"But I won't be able to save enough before the school year starts," Josh complained.

"To be honest, Josh, I don't really know whether we can allow you to go or not," Stephen said frankly. "We'll clearly have to talk to Andy's mothers ourselves before deciding." He gave Josh a stern look, "But you are going to have to actually make the money yourself -- by working -- before we do that."

"I love her," Josh said desperately. "I need her."

"I know, son," Stephen's expression softened, "But as pleasant as it would be, a quick trip to see her wouldn't solve your problem. After you got back you'd be missing her again. It's not practical to regularly fly to Cleveland."

Josh glared at him for a moment, trying to think of something then looked at his mother who was equally firm. He hung his head and dejectedly left the room.

"That's not good," Stephen said.

"Yes, I could see this type of thing coming," Nicole agreed. "I think I am going to have to talk to Jessi about dealing with money."

"I'm certainly glad you're the psychologist in the family," Stephen said.

"Right, but they don't teach you how to deal with people with four digit IQ's in college," Nicole said.

Stephen laughed, "That's because the only two in the world live in this house. You're the world's expert."

"Thanks," she said with a hint of sarcasm. She looked at the table for a moment then took a deep breath and let it out. Then she went to Jessi's room and knocked on the door frame of the open door.

Jessi looked up from her computer and said, "Nicole, is something wrong?"

"I need to talk to you, Jessi," Nicole said.

"Is this about loaning Josh the money?" Jessi asked.

"Yes, and about money in general," She closed the door behind her and sat down. "Jessi, when I heard about your invention and the money you were going to earn, I was thrilled for you and concerned as well. Having that kind of money will mean that you should be financially secure for the rest of your life, assuming you manage it well."

"Why were you concerned?" Jessi asked.

"That's the harder part. There is a saying that 'money is the root of all evil'. Money, itself, is not evil. However people will often do evil in order to acquire it," Nicole paused briefly then continued, "I don't know what happened to Adam Baylin's vision for Latnok, but I would be willing to bet that the desire for money was a key part of it deviating from his vision."

"You are afraid that having money will make me evil?" Jessi asked with concern. She looked thoughtful, "Sometimes I'm afraid I am evil. I've done terrible things. Kyle always seems to do the right thing. I'm always doing the wrong one."

"Kyle makes his mistakes too," Nicole assured her. "I'm uncomfortable with some of the choices he's made in dealing with Cassidy's experiment." She smiled reassuringly, "No, Jessi, you're not evil. I do think you are struggling to figure out how to fit in and have people like you. Sometimes you take short cuts that aren't wise."

"And money can be a short cut?" Jessi asked.

"Sometimes people who have money try to use it to buy friendship," Nicole explained, "and it appears to work. The problem is that when you get friends by buying things for them they aren't really friends with you. They are friends with your money. It will often make them grow to despise you."

Jessi frowned, "Why would they despise you for buying things for them?"

"Because on some level they realize that you are controlling them with money and they come to resent it," Nicole said. "No one likes being manipulated. This all happens on an unconscious level, often on both sides."

"Do you think it was a mistake for me to buy the clothes for Lori?" Jessi asked, frowning.

"It probably was," Nicole said, "I could see that Lori felt guilty about it. But it was a minor one. You just shouldn't do it again. Josh, on the other hand should not have asked you for the money. That was wrong on his part. He also tries to take shortcuts from time to time. We told him that he could not borrow the money from you. If he asks you in the future, please tell him no."

"You don't want me to buy things for people?" Jessi asked with a frown. "I don't mind, I have plenty of money. I was just trying to do the right thing."

"I know you were," Nicole said. "Look, you can buy people presents for normal gift giving occasions, like birthdays and Christmas, but it shouldn't be something extravagant, it should be similar to what other people are giving. Even though you have a lot of money in the bank, you should spend about what other people are spending if you want to fit in with them."

"I want to fit in to the family," Jessi said earnestly.

"It's your money, Jessi, but it really will disrupt your ability to build relationships with people if you go around spending a lot of cash," Nicole advised. "It would be better for you to save most of your new found wealth for the future."

Jessi thought for a moment and asked, "What about my car? Was that a mistake too?"

"I think it was extravagant, but I wouldn't say it was a mistake. You earned it," Nicole said. "It's going to attract attention, though, some unwelcome."

"The wrong kind of attention?" Jessi asked, "Like showing too much skin?"

"Showing too much skin?" Nicole asked with a puzzled expression.

"When I was shopping for clothes with Lori, she said that it was nice to have something that showed some skin to attract the boys, but not too much or you would attract the wrong kind of attention," Jessi explained.

Nicole nodded surprised and pleased, "That's good advice, and it's something like that. Some people will be attracted by the money your car represents. They will probably not make good friends. I know you want to do the right thing, Jessi, and you know, you can always ask me. I'll be glad to help you figure out what to do. In the end, it's your life and your choices. I just want you to be happy, the same as the rest of my kids."

"Thank you, Nicole," Jessi said. "It's nice being one of 'your kids'".


	30. The Rack

The rack was beginning to settle down after the morning rush. Kyle was at his usual table watching Amanda move around.

_Watching Amanda at work was a pleasant way to spend my morning. She would greet each of the customers with a smile. They would come to the counter looking busy or tired and go away with a smile along with their coffee. She would often send one of those smiles in my direction, and when she was able to get a break, come over and sit with me._

Nate Harrison walked in the door. He started toward the counter and then, seeing Kyle, stopped for a moment. He changed course and walked over to Kyle's table, taking the seat across from him.

"So, are you sitting here, guarding Amanda?" Nate challenged.

Kyle bristled, "Have you come to annoy her again?"

"No, I just came to talk to her," Nate said, "and maybe have a cup of coffee."

"Why?" Kyle challenged.

"Because I like her," Nate said.

"Didn't she tell you we were back together?" Kyle asked.

"That didn't stop you when I was dating her," Nate stated, "Why should it stop me?"

"I thought you were angry with her for breaking into your room," Kyle said.

"I was," Nate admitted, "but I talked to her and I don't blame her anymore." He leaned forward, "I blame you. If you really cared about her you wouldn't be having her commit breaking and entering for you."

"You had things that didn't belong to you," Kyle challenged.

"They didn't belong to you either," Nate countered.

"You're a jerk," Kyle said.

"A jerk?" Nate sat back, "seriously, Kyle, that's the best you can do? I'm a jerk? Why am I a jerk?"

"You destroyed my controller board on the hover board project," Kyle said.

Nate looked down, "Yeah, I did. That was childish." He looked at Kyle with a hint of anger, "I'd been working for a year on that project. I put in hundreds of hours. I wanted to win, it was important to me. And then you walked in needing some ready cash and a day later you had one built from scratch. Like it was nothing, just like you did the formula. All my work, all my effort and you just walked in and picked up the prize."

"I needed the money," Kyle objected, "It was a fair competition."

"Was it?" Nate asked scornfully. "I suppose you followed the rules. But I've read the research. I know about Adam Baylin's work, the origins of how you came to be. You are the result of the experiment with the pod. I bet if I looked, you wouldn't have a belly button." He paused and challenged, "You don't have a belly button, do you, Kyle?"

Kyle hesitated then admitted, "No."

"So you're the scientifically designed superior intellect. Well, was it a fair competition? You tell me. Do any of us have a real chance against you in an intellectual competition?" Nate challenged.

"Probably not," Kyle admitted.

"Probably not," Nate agreed. "And I've competed as hard as I can all my life. I've usually won. It's really tough to have to admit there is no point in entering a competition against you."

"I didn't design the experiment," Kyle said, "it's just who I am."

"I know," Nate said, "but that girl over there..." he tilted his head toward Amanda, who was standing behind the counter with a growing expression of concern, "is not an intellectual competition. She's a woman, and she needs a man, not a scientific experiment. So I'm not going to hesitate to compete with you on _that_ basis." He smiled grimly, noting the consternation on Kyle's face, "and may the best _man_ win."

He got up from the table and headed for the door. Halfway there he stopped and said to Amanda, "Looks like I didn't get any coffee this time either." He nodded toward the table Kyle was sitting at, his half drunk smoothie in front of him, "Maybe I'd have better luck with smoothies." Amanda smiled uncertainly, he smiled back and left.

Kyle watched him go then looked over to where Amanda stood, having watched the exchange, clearly concerned.

_Nate's words cut into me like knives. Although he was trying to hurt me, I knew many of the things he said were true. Jessi and I had sent Amanda into danger and she was troubled as a result. I had been so concerned about getting the money for Nicole's hospital bill that I hadn't thought about the students who had been working a long time on that project. Everyone has been always praised me for my talents, I had never considered how those I easily brushed aside would feel. And worst of all was the idea that my unusual background would make me too strange for Amanda. I had been afraid of that all along, it had been one of the reasons I had been hesitant to tell her the whole story. She knew it now, and wasn't sleeping well. Did my origin and talents make me less of a man? Was Nate right?_


End file.
